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THE OPEN POLAR SEA 



NARRATIVE OF A VOYAGE OF DISCOVERY 
TOWARDS THE NORTH POLE, ! 



SCHOONER "UNITED STATES." 



Dr. I. I. HAYES. 




<::lv>. 



■COf \,va'nVVV>lii" 



NEW YORK: 
PUBLISHED BY HURD AND HOUGHTON, 

459 Beoomb Street. 

1867. 



I SCO 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, by 

I. I. Hayes, 

in the Clerlv's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. 



\ 



RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: 

STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY 

H. O. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY. 



/ HAD INTENDED TO DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO 
WILLIAM PARKER FOULKE, 

Of Philadelphia, 

To whom I am indebted 

for all that a powerful intellect and 

a generous friendship could do^ to give practical 

shape to my plans ^ and to insure success to an enterprise 

in which I had embarked^ with the simple advantage of an aim, 

and with no better guide than the impulse of youth : but 

since it is denied me to pay that tribute of my 

admiration to one of the noblest of men., 

I now inscribe it to his 

MEMORY. 



PREFACE. 



The design of this book may be briefly explained. 
I have attempted httle more than a personal narra- 
tive, endeavoring to select from my abundant notes 
such scenes and incidents of adventure as seemed 
to me best calculated to bring before the mind of 
the reader, not merely the history of our voyage, but 
a general view of the Arctic regions, — its scenery 
and its life, with a cursory glance at those physical 
forces which, in their results, give characteristic ex- 
pression to that remote quarter of the world. A 
day of months, followed by a night of months, where 
the mean annual temperature rises but little above 
zero, must necessarily clothe the air and the land- 
scape with a sentiment difficult to appreciate, or, I 
might perhaps say, feel, without actual observation. 
I shall be abundantly rewarded if I have succeeded 
in impressing upon the reader's mind, with any de- 
gree of vividness, the wonders and the grandeur of 
Nature as unfolded to us under the Arctic sky, 

I know it is usually thought that a book of trav- 
els should be simply a diary of events and incidents ; 
but this, of necessity, involves a ceaseless repetition, 
and it seemed to me that I would do better to drop 



VI PREFACE. 

from my diary all that did not appear as immedi- 
ately relevant to the scene ; and, indeed, where the 
occasion appeared to require concentration, to aban- 
don the diary altogether, and use the more concise 
form of descriptive narrative. 

The reader will observe that I have not attempt- 
ed, in any sense, to write a work of Science. True, 
the purpose of the voyage was purely a scientific 
one, — its chief object and aim being to explore the 
boundaries of the Open Polar Sea ; at least to de- 
termine if such a sea did exist, as had been so often 
asserted ; but while I have given a general discus- 
sion of the conditions of the Polar waters and the 
Polar ice, and have recorded many new facts in vari- 
ous departments of physical and natural science, yet 
I have desired to treat the subject in a manner which, 
as it seemed to me, would be most acceptable to the 
general reader, rather than to the scientific student, 
— preferring to direct the latter to those more strictly 
scientific channels where my materials have been or 
are about being published. 

Soon after returning from the North, my principal 
records were placed at the disposal of the Smithso- 
nian Institution at Washington ; and I have employed 
such leisure as I could command in their elaboration 
and discussion, — the principal labor, however, falling 
upon Mr. Charles A. Schott, Assistant, United States 
Coast Survey, who brought to the task the best fac- 
ulties of a well-stored mind, and unusual powers 
of patient investigation ; and papers, giving a full 



PREFACE. Vll 

analysis of the magnetic, meteorological, astronomical, geo- 
graphical, pendulum, and tidal observations, were pre- 
pared, and were accepted for publication in the Smith- 
sonian " Contributions to Knowledge." I regret to 
say that the publication of these papers has been 
much delayed. Deeming it desirable that some of 
the general conclusions to which we had arrived in 
our discussion of the observations should be given 'to 
the world without further postponement, I proposed 
to embody some leading facts in a short Appendix 
to this volume. Upon submitting the matter to the 
learned Secretary of the Institution, it was, however, 
claimed by him that, since I had intrusted the mate- 
rials to his care, the Institution now possessed the 
exclusive right to whatever advantage was to be de- 
rived from their publication. To a proposition so 
eminently reasonable I readily assented, especially as 
I was informed that the papers were already in type 
and were to be published immediately; and, consid- 
ering myself thus absolved from any further respon- 
sibility to the scientific world for the long delay, I 
accordingly abandoned the idea of the Appendix. 
The Chart exhibiting the track and discoveries of 
my voyage, and of my various sledge journeys, was 
claimed, in like manner, as the exclusive property 
of the Smithsonian Institution, and, like the papers, 
was to be published immediately. Hence it is that 
the small map which illustrates this volume is but a 
copy (reduced ten diameters) of my field chart, pro- 
jected on the spot from my unre vised materials. It 



VIU PREFACE. 

is perhaps needless for me to observe that entire 
accuracy was not attainable in the field, inasmuch 
as I had neither the leisure nor the facilities for re- 
ducing the magnetic variation, nor for obtaining the 
absolute time. I am happy to say, however, that 
no greater discrepancy exists than the one which 
places my highest latitude two minutes' too far south 
oil the field chart ; but the reductions having been 
made, and a chart projected therefrom, I had con- 
fidently relied upon this source for the correct infor- 
mation which the Smithsonian Institution now alone 
possessed. This failing me, I was obliged to fall back 
upon my original resources, as the time was too short 
for a new reduction. I am glad to say, however, 
that the field chart is sufficiently accurate for every 
practical purpose, and differs chiefly from the one 
prepared, with greater carefulness, and of large size, 
for the Smithsonian " Contributions to Knowledge," 
in the unimportant feature of the names applied to 
newdy discovered places, some of which were changed 
after my return. No list of these alterations having 
been preserved, and being unable to get the more 
accurate map again into my hands from the Sec- 
retary of the scientific institution in whose care it 
had been placed, as before observed, for publication, 
I have simply adopted the original nomenclature, and 
have used the names as they appear in my journal 
and on my field chart. This explanation is made in 
anticipation of the possible contingency of the Smith- 
sonian Institution publishing the map, for some years 



PEEFACE. ix 

past in its possession, — an event which I think un- 
likely to happeii, and which will now be unnecessary, 
the more especially as I am at present engaged in 
a new reduction of my materials, and the projection 
of a new map, the publication of which, in sufficiently 
large form to give it topographical as well as geo- 
graphical value, has been proposed by my distin- 
guished and very kind friend. Dr. Augustus Peter- 
mann, Gotha, in his Geographical Journal. 

Papers descriptive of the botanical collection, pre- 
pared by Mr. Elias Durand j of the algce, by Mr. Ash- 
mead ; of the lichens, by Professor James ; of the birds, 
by Mr. John Cassin ; of the invertebrata, by Dr. Wil- 
liam Stimpson ; of the mammalia, by Dr. J. H. Slack ; 
of the cetacea, by Professor E. Cope ; of the infusoria, 
by Dr. F. W. Lewis ; of the fishes, by Dr. Theodore 
Gill ; and of the imleoniology , by Professor F. B. Meek, 
have appeared from time to time in the " Proceedings 
of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia," 
excepting the last, which was published in the Amer- 
ican "Journal of Arts and Sciences." Dr. J. Atkin 
Meigs has in preparation a monograph on ethnology, 
based upon a collection of upward of one hundred 
and forty specimens, and I shall soon have completed 
a more elaborate discussion of the Greenland Gla- 
ciers and other collateral topics than has been al- 
lowed me by the limits and character of this work. 

I should do great injustice to my own feelings, 
did I not here express the acknowledgment of my 
obligation to those societies, associations, and indi- 



X PREFACE. 

viduals who united themselves with me in effecting 
the organization of the Expedition, and who hber- 
ally shared with me its expenses. My wishes were 
always promptly met by them, to the extent of their 
ability ; and the enterprise was sustained with a zeal 
and interest rarely accorded to a purely scientific 
purpose. That I have not before published an ac- 
count of my voyage, or presented any detailed state- 
ment of my discoveries to those who had a natural 
right to expect it, has been entirely owing to the 
circumstance that my time has been wholly occupied 
in the public service, from the period of my return 
until late last year ; and they will, I trust, accept as 
a sufficient excuse for my silence during that period, 
the fact that the command of an army hospital, with 
from three to five thousand inmates, which devolved 
upon me during the greater part of the recent war, 
allowed me little, leisure for literary or scientific 
work. It will also be understood that the tempo- 
rary abandonment of the exploration was due to the 
same general cause. 

October 23d, 1866. 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS 

TO THE 

EXPEDITION.* 



THROUGH A SPECIAL COMMITTEE OF THE AMERICAN GEOGRAPHI- 
CAL AND STATISTICAL SOCIETY, NEW YORK. EGBERT L. VIELE, 
Chairman; HENRY GRINNELL, Treasurer. 



Henry Grinnell. 

A. D. Bache. 

George Folsom. 

Henry E. Pierrepont. 

Benjamin H. Field. 

M. de LeRoquette. 

The " American Journal of 
Arts and Sciences " — 
Profs. Silliman and Dana. 

Egbert L. Viele. 

Cyrus W. Field. 

J. L. Graham. 

August Belmont. 

Horace B. Clafflin. 

George Opdyke. 

Brown, Brothers & Co. 

F. S. Stalknecht. 

John Jay. 



C. Godfrey Gunther. 
Peter Cooper. 
Wm. Remsen. 
J. Carson Brevoort. 
Lewis Rutherford. 
C. P. Daly. 
Hugh N. Camp. 
W. A. White. 
John D. Clute. 
Marshall LefFerts. 
Wolcott Gibbs. 
John D. Jones. 
Joseph Harsen. 
Alexander H. Stevens. 
John C. Green, 
Samuel E. Barlow. 
A. H. Ward. 
James T. Hall. 



* The author has reason to suppose that there are several persons to 
whom the Expedition is indebted for support whose names, not having 
been furnished him, do not appear in this list. Desiring to make it en- 
tirely complete, he will feel personally obliged to any one whose name is 
omitted to notify him of the fact, through the agency by which the sub- 
scription was furnished. 



Xll 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



E. A. Stansbuiy. 
W. T. Blodgett. 

Dr. Samuel W. Francis. 
Frank Moore. 
H. M. Field. 
Blakeman & Phinney. 
Harpers Brothers. 
John Austin Stevens. 
George A. Woodward. 
C. Detmold. 
Z. T. Detmold. 
Francis Lieber. 

F. E. Church. 
Bayard Taylor. 
O. M. Mitchell. 
Henrietta B. Haines. 
Mary W. Talman. 
Clarence A. Seward. 



F. L. Hawks. 
Robert B. Winthrop. 

G. P. Putnam. 
A. W. White. 
A. H. Wood. 
Geoi'ge L. Samson. 
Henry A. Robbins. 
Wm. H. Allen. 
Albert Clark. 
Joseph W. Orvis. 
John D. Wing. 
Grinnell & Bibby. 
Simeon Holton, Jun. 
Sheldon, Blakeman & Co. 
American Desiccatino- Co. 
Ruxton, Barker & Co. 
G. Tasliabue. 



THROUGH COMMITTEES OF THE BOARD OF TRADE AND ACADEMY 
OF NATURAL SCIENCES, PHILADELPHIA. FRANCIS COPE, Treas- 
urer. 



Wm. Parker Foulke. 
Joseph Harrison, Jun. 
Henry Cope. 
Alfred Cope. 
Wm. Bucknell. 
John Rice. 

North American Life Insur- 
ance Co. 
DelaAvare Mutual Ins. Co. 
Corn Exchange. 
Cope Brothers. 
Isaac Lea. 
R. Pearsall. 
C. Macalister. 
Henry C. Carey. 
John C. Cresson. 
Wm. R. Leje6. 



Childs & Peterson. 
Samuel J. Reeves. 
Edward Trotter. 
J. T. Alburger & Co. 
M. J, Wickersham. 
Thomas Sparks. 
E. J. Lewis. 
Joseph Leidy. 
R. E. Rogers. 
Jacob P. Jones. 
J. B. Lippincott & Co. 
M. W. Baldwin. 
Samuel E. Stokes. 
Dr. T. B. Wilson. 
James C. Hand. 
Heniy C. Townsend. 
Richard Price. 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS, 



XUl 



M. L. Dawson. 

Samuel Coffin. 

W. Haye. 

Lodge 61, A. Y. M. 

John Thompson. 

John P. Crozer. 

Joseph Jeanes. 

E. J. Levis. 

Edward A. Souder. 

Geo. N. Tatham. 

John A. Brown. 

B. Marshall. 

R. Marshall. 

Thomas Richardson & Co. 

D. Haddock, Jun. 

J. B. Morris. 

Israel Morris. 

B. C. & R. A. Tilgliman. 

John W. Sexton. 

John Crigg. 

William Sellers & Co. 

Tobias Wagner. 

Warren Fisher. 

Wm. S. Vaux. 

Dr. James Bond. 

Chas. Henry Fisher. 

J. Edgar Thompson. 

Charles E. Smith. 

Frothingham, Wells & Co. 

Fairman Rogers. 

John L. Leconte. 

J. C. Trautwine. 

Edward Hayes. 



Aubrey H, Smith. 
C. Townsend. 
E. C. Knight. 
Buckman & Co. 
E. Durar. 
E. H. Butler. 
Blair & Wyeth. 
King & Baird. 
Sharp & Brother. 
Rowland & Irvin. 
Henry Winsor. 
David McConkey. 
Wilson, Childs & Co. 
A. Whitney & Son. 
Townsend Sharpless. 
David S. Brown. 
Chas. Ellis. 
Wm. M. Baird. 
James H. Orne. 
Joshua L. Bailey. 
James Addicks. 
Benj. Marsh. 
Buzby & Co. 
Weaver, Fitler & Co. 
James Leslie & Co. 
McAlister & Brotlier. 
Bible Society. 
John H. Cooper. 
S. Hazard. 
Isaac J. Williams. 
Buckner & M' Connor. 
Burley & Co. 
Mrs. Dr. Bond. 



THEOUGH COMMITTEE OF CITIZENS, ALBANY, N. Y. 
CLIFFE, Treasurer. 



D. V. N. RAD- 



J. H. Armsby. 
Thomas W. Olcott. 
Eli Perry. 



D. V. N. RadclifFe. 
Erastus Corning. 
R. C. Davis. 



XIV 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBEES. 



Isaac W. Vosburg. 
John T. Ratlibone. 
Alden Marsh. 
A. B. Banks. 
Charles L. Garfield. 
David J. Boyd. 
T. Roessu & Son. 
W. Frothingham. 
G. J. H. Thatcher. 
Samuel Anable. 



S. H. Ransom. 
R. H. Wakeman. 
J. O. Somier. 
James Kidd. 
A. A. Dunlap. 
Alanson Sumner. 
James W. Cook. 
E. Owens. 
John Tracy. 
Cook & Palmer. 



THROUGH THE CITIZENS' COMMITTEE AND COMMITTTEE OF THE 
ACADEMY OF ARTS AND SCIENCES, BOSTON. RICHARD BAKER, 
JuN., Treasurer. 



Richard Baker, Jun. 
Warren Sawyer. 
John Stetson. 
J. D. W. Joy. 
O. W. Peabody. 
S. A. Dix. 
Theodore Lyman. 
Richard P. Pope. 
David Sears. 
Thomas Lee. 
Philip H. Sears. 
B. W. Taggard. 
Amos A. Lawrence. 
J. Bigelow, M. D. 
James W. Beebe. 

A. W. SpencjH". 
S. H. Wallgy. 
Wm. Gray. 

H. A. Whitney. 
Geo. R. Russell. 
L. Agassiz. 

B. A. Gould. 

C. C. Felton. 
Prof. J. Lovering. 
Prof. E. N. Horsfard. 



James Lawrence. 

Jonathan Phillips. 

Nathan Appleton. 

Joseph Whitney. 

Abbott Lawrence. 

George W. Lyman. 

Edward Wigglesworth. 

Francis Skinner. 

George B. Blake. 

Naylor & Co. 

H. O. Houghton. 

Columbia Lodge. 

Woburn Lodge. 

Mt. Lebanon Lodge. 

Winslow Lewis Lodge. 

Merchants' Insurance Co. 
(through Capt. Smith.) 

Manufacturers' Ins. Co. 

J. Sawyer & Co. 

Wm. H. Kennard. 

E. Hammer (Danish Con- 
sul.) 

D. N. Haskell. 

Wm. Baker. 

Daniel Paine. 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



XV 



H. Howard. 

Wm. M. Parker. 

Francis Kendall. 

C. G. Kendall. 

E. R. Mudge & Co. 

Wilkinson, Stetson & Co. 

Merrill & Co. 

Allen, Whiting & Co. 

Huntington, Wadsworth & 

Parks. 
Fitchburg Woolen Co. 
Maeullum, Williams & 

Parker. 
Edward Everett. 
N. P. Banks. 
Frederick W. Lincoln. 
John Cummings. 
John Clark. 
Joshua D. SafFord. 
S. S. Arnold. 
Winslow Lewis, M. D. 
Benj. French. 
Black & Bacheller. 
Wm. B. Bojd. 
Wm. Furness, Jun. 
John Paine. 
James Sturgis. 
Thornton K. Lathrop. 
Caleb Curtis. 
Chas. D. Homans, M. D. 
George L. Pratt. 
A. G. Smith. 
Henry P. Kidder. 
Henry Mulliken. 
A. W. Stetson. 
Chas. J. Sprague. 
H. S. Kidder. 
Stonewood & Baldwin. 



Messinger & Brothers. 
Middlesex Co. 
Oak Hall. 
Fenno & Co. 
F. A. Hawley & Co. 
Andrew Pierce. 
Burnham & Scott. 
March Brothers. 
William R. Lovejoy & Co. 
Whiting, Galloupe & Co. 
Kelley & Levin. 
John A. Whipple. 
Stetson, Kendall & Minot. 
Isaac Fenno. 
Charles E. Wiggin. 
Joshua Blake. 
Preston & Merrill. 
Wm. Read & Son. 
Richard Fay, Jun. 
Redding & Co. 
Hostetter & Smith, (Pitts- 
burg, Pa.) 
John Wilson. 
Henry W. Poole. 
E. Thompson. 
H. B. Walley. 
Richard F. Bond. 
L. Audenried & Co. 
Noble, Hammott & Hall. 
N. Sturtevant & Co. 
Wm. F. Weld. 
J. G. Bigelow. 
Wm. D. Atkinson, Jun. 
Jas. W. Wightman. 
George H. Snelling. 
J. C. Hoadley. 
A. Loring. 
H. Poor & Son. 



XVI 



LIST OF SUBSCRIBERS. 



Wm. M. Jacobs & Son. 
Wm. Bond & Son. 
Pierce & Co. 
Joshua Stetson. 
Chas. W. Freelancl & Co. 
BuiTough, Bro. & Co. 
Frost & Kimball. 
Washington Mills. 
Hunt & Goodwin. 
Geo. W. Simmons. 
Nevin, Sawyer & Co. 
George Osgood. 
Theodore H. Bell. 
Brown & Taggard. 
Winsor & Whitney. 
Richard Morris Hunt. 
Edward J. Thomas. 
Wm. B. Hayden. 
E. H. Blake. 
Lewis R. Reynolds. 
Swann, Brewer & Tileston. 
E. B. Moore. 
John E. Hayes. 
Ballard & Prince. 
Dana, Farrar & Hyde. 
Jas. Assaford. 



S. S. Arnold. 

C. B. Bryant. 
W. Clafflin & Co. 
Day, Wilcox & Co. 
J. J. Adams & Co. 
Alex. Williams & Co. 
E. Paige & Co. 

D. P. Ives & Co. 
Max, White & Bartlett. 
J. B. KendalL 
Sewall, Day & Co. 

E. A, & W. Winchester. 
Seth Adams. 

J. & J. F. Samson & Co. 

Wilder & Eastbrook. 

Maynard & Noyes. 

Winn, Eaton & Co. 

J. H. Poole. 

Fogg, Houghton & Co. 

Brown & Stanley. 

J. Childs, Jun. 

Doan & Skilton. 

Parker, Gannett & Osgood. 

Denton & Wood. 

Foster & Smith. 

Wm. K, Lewis & Co. 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



-^ 

TASE 

1. MAP OF THE POLAR REGIONS 1 

Drawn by C. A. Schott. Engraved by J. Schedler. 

2. MAP OF SMITH SOUND, SHOWING DR. HAYES' TRACK AND 

DISCOVERIES 72 

Drawn by Dr. Hayes. Engraved by J. Schedler. 

3. MAP OF PORT FOULKE, THE WINTER QUARTERS OF THE 

EXPEDITION 96 

Drawn by Dr. Hayes. Engraved by J. Schedler. 

4. AN ARCTIC TEAM 104 

Drawn by G. G. White, from a Sketch by Dr. Hayes. Engraved by 
J. A. Bogert. 

5. A BEAR-HUNT 174 

Drawn by Darley, from Description. Engraved by J. A. Bogert. 

6. CROSSING THE HUMMOCKS ^m 

Drawn by G. G. White, from a Sketch by Dr. Hayes. Engraved by 
J. A. Bogert. 

7. THE SHORES OF THE POLAR SEA 346 

Drawn by H. Fenn, from a Sketch by Dr. Haj^es. Engraved by Fay 
& Cox. 

8. A WALRUS-HUNT 408 

Drawn by Darley, from Description. Engraved by J. A. Bogert. 

9. TYNDALL GLACIER, WHALE SOUND 438 

Drawn by H. Fenn, from a Photograph by Dr. Hayes. Engraved by 
Kingdon & Boyd. 

b 



EXPLANATION OF TAIL-PIECES. 



Drawn on wood by G. G. White from. Photographs and Sketches by Dr. Hayes. En- 
graved mostly by J. A. Bogert. 

PAGE 

1. Anchor 15 

2. Akched Iceberg 27 

3. Greenlander in his Kayak ; 34 

4. Upernavik , 43 

5. Snowflake (magnified three diameters) 56 

6. Seal on Cake of Ice 67 

7. Head of a Eeindeer 91 

8. Port Foulke 100 

9. Snowflake (same as No. 5) 126 

10. Chester Valley, showing Alida Lake and the Glacier 136 

11. " My Brother John's Glacier," from First Camp 148 

12. Group of Eeindeer 164 

13. Schooner in Winter Quarters 211 

14. The Esquimau Hut at Etah 235 

15. Head of Walrus 247 

16. Portrait of Birdie, the Artic Fox 250 

17. SoNNTAG's Grave 276 

18. Snowflake (same as No. 5) 296 

19. Camping in a Snow-Bank 306 

20. Polar Bear 314 

21. Dog Sledge 321 

22. Head of the Esquimau Dog Oosisoak 332 

23. Cape Union ; 352 

24. A Sketch 362 

25. Observatory at Port Foulke 375 

26. SnowflaivE (same as No. 5) 380 

27. Kalutunah and his Family 395 

28. Head of Arctic Hare 425 

29. A Sketch 438 

30. " End " 454 



CONTENTS. 



INTRODUCTION. 

PAGE 

Plan of tlie Expedition. — First Announcement. — Appeal to Scien- 
tific Societies. — Aid solicited. — Public Lectures. — Liberality of 
various Societies and Individuals. — Vessel purchased in Boston. — 
Interest manifested in that City. — Difficulty in obtaining a pi'oper 
Ci'ew. — Organization of the Party. — Scientific Outfit. — Abun- 
dant Supplies 1 

CHAPTER I 

Leaving Boston. — At Anchor in Nantasket Roads. — At Sea 13 

CHAPTER IL 

Passage to the Greenland Coast. — Discipline. — The Decks at Sea. 
— Our Quarters. — The First Iceberg. — Crossing the Arctic Cir- 
cle. — The Midnight Sun. — The Endless Day. — Making the 
Land. — A Remarkable Scene among the Bergs. — At Anchor in 
Proven Harbor 16 

CHAPTER III. 

The Colony of Proven. — The Kayak of the Greenlander. — Scarcity 
of Dogs. — Liberality of the Chief Trader. — Arctic Flora 28 

CHAPTER IV. 

Upernavik. — Hospitality of the Inhabitants. — Death and Burial of 
Gibson Caruthers. — A Lunch on Board. — Adieu 35 

CHAPTER V. 

Among the Icebergs. — Dangers of Arctic Navigation. — A Narrow 
Escape from a Crumbling Berg. — Measurement of an Iceberg .... 44 

CHAPTER VL 

Entering Melville Bay. — The Middle Ice. — The Great Polar Cur- 
rent. — A Snow-Storm. — Encounter with an Iceberg. — Making 
Cape York. — Rescue of Hans 57 



XX CONTEITTS. 

CHAPTER Vn. 

PAGE 

Hans and his Family. — Petowak Glacier. — A Snow-Storm. — The 
Ice-Pack. — Entering Smith Sound. — A Severe Gale. — Collision 
with Icebergs. — Encounter with the Ice-Fields. — Retreat from the 
Pack. — At Anchor in Hartstene Bay. — Entering Winter Quar- 
ters 68 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Our Winter Harbor. — Preparing for Winter. — Organization of Du- 
ties. — Scientific Work. — The Observatory. — Schooner Driven 
Ashore. — The Hunters. — Sawing a Dock. — Frozen up. — Sun- 
set 92 

CHAPTER IX. 

Sunset. — Winter Work. — My Dog-Teams. — " My Brother John's 
Glacier." — Hunting. — Peat Beds. — Esquimau Graves. — Putre- 
faction at Low Temperatures. — Sonntag climbs the Glacier. — 
Hans and Peter. — My Esquimau People. — The Esquimau Dog. 
— ■ Surveying the Glacier. — The Sailing-Master. — His Birthday 
Dinner 101 

CHAPTER X. 

Journey on the Glacier. — The First Camp. — Scaling the Glacier. — 
Character of its Surface. — The Ascent. — Driven back by a Gale. 

— Low Temperature. — Dangerous Situation of the Party. — A 
Moonlight Scene 127 

CHAPTER XL 

Important Results of the recent Journey. — The Glacier System of 
Greenland. — General Discussion of the Subject. ■ — • Illustrations 
drawn from the Alpine Glaciers. — Glacier Movement. — Outline 
of the Greenland Mer de Glace 137 

CHAPTER XIL 

My Cabin. — Surveying. — Castor and Pollux. — Concerning Scurvy. 

— Dangers of eating Cold Snow. — Knorr and Starr. — Frost-Bites. 

— Hans,' Peter, and Jacob again. — Coal Account. — The Fires. — 
Comfort of our Quarters. — The House on Deck. — Mild Weather. 

— Jensen. — Mrs. Hans. — John Williams, the Cook. — A Cheer- 
ful Evening 149 

CHAPTER XIIL 

Increasing Darkness. — Daily Routine. — The Journal. — Our Home. 

— Sunday. — Return of Sonntag. — A Bear-Hunt. — The Open 
Water. — Accident to Mr. Knorr. — A Thaw. — " The Port Foulke 



CONTENTS. XXI 

PAOE 

Weekly News." — The Tide-Register. — The Fire-Hole. — Hunt- 
ing Foxes. — Peter 165 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Midwinter. — The Night of Months. — Brilliancy of the Moonlight. 

— Mild Temperatures. — Remarkable Weather. — A Shower. — 
Depth of Snow. — Snow Crystals. — An Epidemic among the Dogs. 

— Symptoms of the Disorder. — Great Mortality. — Only one Team 
left. — New Plans. — Schemes for reaching the Esquimaux in Whale 
Sound 192 

CHAPTER XV. 

The Arctic Midnight. — Sonntag starts for Whale Sound. — Effects 
of Darkness on the Spirits. — Routine of Duties. — Christmas Eve. 

— Christmas Day. — The Christmas Dinner 200 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The New Year. — Looking for Sonntag. — The Aui'ora Borealis. — 
A Remarkable Display. — Depth of Snow. — Strange Mildness of 
the Weather. — The Open Sea. — Evaporation at Low Tempera- 
tures. — Looking for the Twilight. — My Pet Fox 212 

CHAPTER XVH. 

The Arctic Night 222 

CHAPTER XVIIL 

Prolonged Absence of Mr. Sonntag. — Preparing to look for him. — 
Arrival of Esquimaux. — They report Sonntag dead. — Arrival of 
Hans. — Condition of the Dogs. — Hans's Story of the Journey. . . 227 

CHAPTER XIX. 

Sonntag. — Twilight increasing. — A Deer-Hunt. — The Arctic Foxes. 

— The Polar Bear. — • Adventures with Bears. — Our New Esqui- 
maux. — Esquimau Di'ess. — A Snow House. — Esquimau Imple- 
ments. — A Walrus Hunt 236 

CHAPTER XX. 
Looking for the Sun. — The Open Sea. — Birds 248 

CHAPTER XXL 
Sunrise 251 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Spring Twilight. — Arrival of Esquimaux. — Obtaining Dogs. — Kal- 
utunah, Tattarat, Myouk, Amalatok and his Son. — An Arctic 
Hospital. — Esquimau Gratitude 255 



XXll CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXm. 

PAGE 

Kalutunah returns. — An Esquimau Family. — The Family Prop- 
erty. — The Family Wardrobe. — Myouk and his Wife. — Peter's 
Dead Body found. — My New Teams. — The Situation. — Hunt- 
ing. — Subsistence of Arctic Animals. — Pursuit of Science under 
Difficulties. — Kalutunah at Home. — An Esquimau Feast. — Kalu- 
tunah in Service. — Recovering the Body of Mr. Sonntag. — The 
Funeral. — The Tomb 265 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Starting on my First Joui-ney. — Object of the Journey. — A Mishap. 
— A Fresh Start. — The First Camp. — Hartstene's Cairn. — Ex- 
ploring a Track. — A New Style of Snow-Hut. — An Uncomfort- 
able Night. — Low Temperature. — Effect of Temperature on the 
Snow. — Among the Hummocks. — Sighting Humboldt Glacier. — 
The Track impracticable to the Main Party. — Van Rensselaer 
Harbor. — Fate of the Advance. — A Drive in a Gale 277 

CHAPTER XXV. 

Sending forward Supplies. — Ivalutunah as a Driver. — Kalutunah 
civilized. — Mr. Knorr. — Plan of my Proposed Journey. — Prepar- 
ing to set out. — Industrious Esquimau Women. — Death and Bu- 
rial of Kablunet. — The Start 290 

CHAPTER XXVI. 

The First Day's Journey. — A Fall of Temperature. — Its Effect 
upon the Men. — Camped in a Snow-Hut. — The Second Day's 
Journey. — At Cairn Point. — Character of the Ice. — The Pros- 
pect. — Stoxnn-stayed. — The Cooks in Difficulty. — Snow-Drift. — 
Violence of the Gale. — Our Snow-Hut 297 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

The Storm continues. — At Work. — Among the Hummocks. — Diffi- 
culties of the Track. — The Snow-Drifts. — Slow Progress. — The 
Smith Sound Ice. — Formation of the Hummocks. — The Old Ice- 
Fields. — Growth of Ice-Fields. — Thickness of Ice. — The Pros- 
pect . 307 

CHAPTER XXVIII 

The Difficulties multiplying. — Sledge broken. — Reflections on the 
Prospect. — The Men breaking down. — Worse and Worse. — The 
Situation. — Defeat of Main Party. — Resolve to send the Party 
back and continue the Journey with Dogs 315 



coiTTEiq^TS. xxiii 

CHAPTER XXIX. 

PASE 

The Main Party sent back. — Plunging into the Hummocks again. — 
Advantages of Dogs. — Camp in an Ice-Cave. — Nursing the Dogs. 

— Snow-Blindness. — A Chapter of Accidents. — Cape Hawks. — 
Cape Napoleon. — Storm-stayed. — Grinnell Land looming up. — 
Discovering a Sound. — Ravenous Disposition of Dogs. — A Cheer- 
less Supper. — Camping in the Open Air. — Prostration of Men 
and Dogs. — Making the Land at last 322 

CHAPTER XXX. 

The Prospect Ahead. — To Cape Napoleon. — To Cape Frazer. — 
Traces of Esquimaux. — Rotten Ice. — Kennedy Channel. — Mild- 
ness of Temperature. — Appearance of Birds. — Geological Feat- 
ures of Coast. — Vegetation. — Accident to Jensen 333 

CHAPTER XXXL 

A New Start. — Speculations. — In a Fog. — Polar Scenery. — 
Stopped by Rotten Ice. — Looking Ahead. — Conclusions. — The 
Open Sea. — Climax of the Journey. — Returning South 343 

CHAPTER XXXII. 

The Open Polar Sea. — Width of the Polar Basin. — Boundaries of 
the Polar Basin. — Polar Currents. — Polar Ice. — The Ice-Belt. — 
Arctic Navigation and Discovery. — The Russian Sledge Explora- 
tions. — Wrangel's Open Sea. — Parry's Boat Expedition. — Dr. 
Kane's Discoveries. — Expansion of Smith Sound. — General Con- 
clusions drawn from my own Discoveries and those of my Prede- 
cessors 353 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 

On Board the Schooner. — Review of the Journey. — The Return 
down Kennedy Channel. — A Severe March in a Snow-Storm. — 
Rotten Ice. — Effects of a Gale. — Returning thi'ough the Hum- 
mocks. — The Dogs breaking down. — Adrift on a Floe at Cairn 
Point. — The Open Water compels us to take to the Land. — 
Reaching the Schooner. — Projecting a Chart. — The New Sound. 

— My Northern Discoveries 363 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Inspection of the Schooner. — Method of Repairing. — The Serious 
Nature of the Injury. — The Schooner unfit for any further Ice- 
Encounters. — Examination of my Resources. — Plans for the Fu- 
ture 376 



xxiv CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXXV. 

PAOE 

The Arctic Spring. — Snow disappearing. — Plants show Signs of 
Life. — Keturn of the Birds. — Change in the Sea. — Refitting the 
Schooner. — The Esquimaux. — Visit to Kalutunah. — Kalutunah's 
Account of the Esquimau Traditions. — Hunting-Grounds contract- 
ed by the Accumulation of Ice. — Hardships of their Life. — Their 
Subsistence. — The Race dwindling away. — Visit to the Glacier. 

— Re-survey of the Glacier. — Kalutunah catching Birds. — A 
Snow-Storm and a Gale. — The Mid-day of the Arctic Summer . . . 381 

CHAPTER XXXVL 

The Arctic Summer. — The Flora. — The Ice dissolving. — A Sum- 
mer Storm of Rain, Hail, and Snow. — The Terraces. — Ice Action. 

— Upheaval of the Coast. — Geological Interest of Icebergs and 
the Land-Ice. — A Walrus Hunt. — The " Fourth." — Visit to Lit- 
tleton Island. — Great Numbers of Eidei'-Ducks and. Gulls. — The 
Ice breaking up. — Critical Situation of the Schooner. — Taking 
Leave of the Esquimaux. — Adieu to Port Foulke 396 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

Leaving Port Foulke. — Effort to reach Cape Isabella. — Meet the 
Pack and take Shelter at Littleton Island. — Hunting. — Abun- 
dance of Birds and Walrus. — Visit to Cairn Point. — Reaching 
the West Coast. — View from Cajie Isabella. — Plans for the Fu- 
ture. — Our Results. — Chances of reaching the Polar Sea dis- 
cussed. — The Glaciers of Ellesmere Land 416 

CHAPTER XXXVIH. 

Leaving Smith Sound. — Crossing the North Water. — Meeting the 
Pack. — The Sea and Air teeming Avith Life. — Remarkable Re- 
fraction. — Reaching Whale Sound. — Surveying in a Boat. — The 
Sound traced to its Termination. — Meeting Esquimaux at Iteplik. 

— Habits of the Esquimaux. — Marriage Ceremony. — The Decay 

of the Tribe. — View of Barden Bay. — Tyndall Glacier 426 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

Homeward Bound. — Entering Melville Bay. — Encounter with a 
Bear. — Meeting the Pack. — Making the " South Water. " — 
Reaching Upernavik. — The News. — To Goodhaven. — Liberality 
of the Danish Govemiment and the Greenland Officials. — Driven 
out of Baffin Bay by a Gale. — Crippled by the Stoi'm and forced 
to take Shelter in Halifax. — Hospitable Reception. — Arrival in 
Boston. — Realize the State of the Country. — The Determina- 
tion. — Conclusion 439 



INTKODUCTION. 

PLAN OF THE EXPEDITION. — FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT. — APPEAL TO SCIENTIFIC 
SOCIETIES. — AID SOLICITED. — PUBLIC LECTURES. — LIBERALITY OF VARI- 
OUS SOCIETIES AND INDIVIDUALS. — VESSEL PURCHASED IN BOSTON. — IN- 
TEREST MANIFESTED IN THAT CITY. — DIFFICULTY IN OBTAINING A PROPER 
CREW.— ORGANIZATION OF THE PARTY. — SCIENTIFIC OUTFIT. — ABUNDANT 
SUPPLIES. 

I PURPOSE to record in this Book the events of the 
Expedition which I conducted to the Arctic Seas. 

The plan of the enterprise first suggested itself to 
me while acting as Surgeon of the Expedition com- 
manded by the late Dr. E. K. Kane^ of the United 
States Navy. Although its execution did not appear 
feasible at the period of my return from that voyage 
in October, 1855, yet I did not at any time abandon 
the design. It comprehended an extensive scheme 
of discovery. The proposed route was that by Smith's 
Sound. My object was to complete the survey of the 
north coasts of Greenland and Grinnell Land, and to 
make such explorations as I might find practicable in 
the direction of the North Pole. 

My proposed base of operations was Grinnell Land. 
which I had discovered on my former voyage, and had 
personally traced beyond lat. 80°, far enough to sat- 
isfy me that it was available for my design. 

Accepting the deductions of many learned physi- 
cists that the sea about the North Pole cannot be 
frozen, that an open area of varying extent must be 
found within the Ice-belt which is known to invest it, 
I desired to add to the proofs which had already been 



2 PLAN OF THE EXPEDITION. 

accumulated by the early Dutch and English voy- 
agers, and, more recently, by the researches of Scores- 
by, Wrangel, and Parry, and still later by Dr. Kane's 
expedition. 

It is well known that the great difficulty which 
has been encountered, in the various attempts that 
have been made to solve this important physical 
problem, has been the inability of the explorer to 
penetrate the Ice-belt with his ship, or to travel over 
it with sledges sufficiently far to obtain indisputable 
proof My former experience led me to the conclusion 
that the chances of success were greater by Smith's 
Sound than by any other route, and my hopes of suc- 
cess were based upon the expectation which I enter- 
tained of being able to push a vessel into the Ice-belt, 
to about the 80th parallel of latitude, and thence to 
transport a boat over the ice to the open sea which 
I hoped to find beyond. Reaching this open sea, if 
such fortune awaited me, I proposed to launch my 
boat and to push oif northward. For the ice-transpor- 
tation I expected to rely, mainly, upon the dog of the 
Esquimaux, 

How far I was able to execute my design these 
pages will show. 

It will be remembered that the highest point 
reached by Dr. Kane with his vessels was Van Eens- 
selaer Harbor, latitude 78° 3 7', where he wintered. 
This was on the eastern side of Smith's Sound. It 
seemed to me that a more favorable position could 
be attained on the western side ; and from personal 
observations made in 1854, while on a sledge jour- 
ney from Van Rensselaer Harbor, it appeared to me 
probable that the degree of latitude already indicated 
might be secured for a winter station and a centre of 
observation. 



ANTICIPATED RESULTS. 3 

It would be needless for me to attempt to illustrate 
the value of such a centre for the purpose of scientific 
inquiry. It was not alone the prospect of the satis- 
faction to be achieved by completing our geographi- 
cal knowledge of that portion of the globe, nor that 
of solving definitely the problem of an Open Polar 
Sea, that encouraged me in the task which I had 
undertaken. There were many questions of physical 
science to be settled, and I hoped to take with me a 
corps of well-instructed observers. The movements 
of the currents of the air and water, the temperature 
of these elements, the pressure of the former and the 
tides of the latter, the variations of gravity, the direc- 
tion and intensity of the "magnetic force," the Au- 
rora Borealis, the formation and movement of the 
glaciers, and many important features of Natural His- 
tory remained to be solved by observations about the 
centre indicated. Years of profitable labor might in- 
deed be expended in that locality by an enterprising 
force of skilled workers. 

With these objects in view, I applied with great 
confidence to the scientific men of the world and 
to the enlightened public sentiment of my country- 
men. 

The response, although in the end highly gratify- 
ing, was more tardy in its coming than had been at 
first anticipated. There were indeed many circum- 
stances of discouragement, not the least of which was 
an impression which then had possession of the public 
judgment, that any further efforts toward the North 
Pole must be fruitless, and must involve an unjusti- 
fiable loss of life. It was only after many endeavors 
that here and there the influences favorable to the 
design began to affect the community. The most im- 



4 FIRST AIN'NOUNCEMENT. 

portant of these was, of course, the sanction given to 
the project by those associations whose opinions gov- 
ern the mass of men in relation to scientific matters. 

The first pubhc announcement of it was made to 
the American Geographical and Statistical Society, 
before which body I read a paper in December, 1857, 
setting forth the plan, and the means proposed for its 
accomplishment. It was on this occasion that I first 
experienced the discouragement to which I have al- 
ready referred, and it became evident to all who had 
thus far interested themselves in the subject, that it 
would be necessary to instruct the public mind in 
relation to the practicability of the proposed explora- 
tion, and its comparative freedom from danger, before 
any earnest support could be anticipated. 

To this task I at once addressed myself, although, 
indeed, I might with some show of reason have aban- 
doned the undertaking altogether; but at twenty-five 
one is not easily discouraged. In concert with the 
friends of the enterprise, I caused it to be understood 
that I was open to invitations from any of the numer- 
ous literary societies and clubs who were organizing 
popular courses of lectures for the winter. Such lec- 
tures were at that time quite the fashion, and almost 
every little town in the country could boast of its 
"course." The invitations which reached me were 
very numerous, and I availed myself of them to the 
full limit of my time. The scientific and literary jour- 
nals and the press, ever ready to aid in the advance- 
ment of liberal and enlightened purjDOses, gave very 
cordial support ; and, when the spring of 1858 opened, 
we had the satisfaction to perceive that we had dis- 
pelled some of the popular illusions respecting the 
dangers of Arctic exploration. Among the most im- 



SCIENTIFIC INTEREST. 5 

portant of the lectures given at this period was a 
course which I dehvered at the instance of Professor 
Joseph Henry, in the fine lecture-room of the Smith- 
sonian Institution at Washino;ton, These lectures were 
the more important, in that they secured to the un- 
dertaking the friendship and support of Professor 
A. D. Bache, the learned and efficient chief of the 
United States Coast Survey. 

In April, 1858, I brought the subject before the 
American Association for the Advancement of Sci- 
ence, at its annual meeting held in Baltimore ; and 
that body of representative men, at the suggestion 
of Professor Bache, appointed sixteen of its leading 
members a committee on " Arctic Exploration." 

It remained now only to secure the necessary ma- 
terial aid. With this object in view, committees were 
promptly appointed by ihe American Philosophical 
Society, the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadel- 
phia, the American Geographical Society, the Lyceum 
of Natural History of New York, the American Acad- 
emy of Arts and Sciences, and the Boston Society of 
Natural History. 

Subscription lists were at once opened by these sev- 
eral committees, and Professor Bache, at all times fore- 
most to promote scientific discovery, headed the list 
with his powerful name. 

The learned Secretary of the Smithsonian Institu- 
tion, Professor Joseph Henry, further strengthened the 
cause by the proffer of scientific instruments, and this 
was followed by the earnest support of Mr. Henry 
Grinnell, whose zealous efforts and sacrifices in behalf 
of Arctic exploration are too well known to gain any 
thing from my commendation. 

At a subsequent period I addressed the Chamber 



6 PUBLIC LECTURES. 

of Commerce in New York, and the Board of Trade 
in Philadelphia. The latter promptly appointed a 
committee with the same objects as those previously 
appointed by the scientific societies. Still later I 
spoke to a large audience in the lecture-room of the 
Lowell Institute, Boston, assembled under the auspices 
of the committee of the Academy of Arts and Sci- 
ences, on which occasion, after eloquent addresses by 
the chairman, the late Hon. Edward Everett, and Pro- 
fessors Agassiz and W. B. Rogers, a committee of cit- 
izens was appointed to cooperate with the committees 
already named. 

The system of public lecturing which had been 
improved with such satisfactory advantage in the 
beginning, was continued, and, in addition to the 
increased public interest which the lectures created, 
they proved a source of more substantial benefit. 
Two of them were delivered under the auspices of 
the American Geographical Society. The value of 
these last was derived from the circumstance that 
pubhc support was given to the project by Dr. Francis 
Lieber, the late Rev. Dr. Bethune, Rev. J. P. Thomp- 
son, the late Professor (afterward Major-General) 0. M. 
Mitchel, and Mr. (now Brigadier-General) Egbert L. 
Viele. who spoke on the occasion. The principal ad- 
dress was made by Dr. Lieber, and it was characteristic 
of that able and learned writer. 

The interest manifested among geographers abroad 
was scarcely less than that shown by scientific men at 
home. The eminent President of the Geographical 
Society of London, Sir Roderick Impey Murchison, in 
announcing the proposed renewal of Arctic discovery 
to that distinguished body, expressed the earnest de- 
sire of the society for the success of the undertaking ; 



FOREIGN SUPPORT. 7 

and the enlightened Yice-President of the Geograph- 
ical Society of Paris, M. de la Roquette, promptly 
offered, as an earnest of his good will, a liberal contri- 
bution to the fund. 

The Masonic Fraternity in New York, Boston, and 
Philadelphia also gave their assistance, and it was not 
the less appreciated that it was spontaneous and un- 
expected. 

Notwithstanding the unceasing efforts which were 
thus made in every quarter, and the almost universal 
interest which the undertaking at length excited, it 
was not until the beginning of June, 1860, that I was 
able to commence my preparations. My plans of ex- 
ploration had been based upon the expectation of 
being able to start with two vessels, — one a small 
steamer, to be taken out under sails, and the steam- 
power only to be used when actually among the ice ; 
— the other a sailing vessel, to be employed as a ten- 
der or store-ship. 

It now became evident to us that if my departure 
was deferred to another year, the chances of my sail- 
ing at all would be diminished rather than increased ; 
and we therefore determined to do the best we could 
with the means at hand. These means would enable 
us to fit out and man only one small sailing vessel. 

To Mr. Richard Baker, Jr., the energetic chairman 
of the Boston Committee, (aided by a sub-committee 
consisting of Mr. Warren Sawyer, Mr. John Stetson, 
Mr. 0. W. Peabody, and Mr. J. D. W. Joy,) was in- 
trusted the selection and purchase of such a craft 
as would best compromise between the services to 
be performed and the state of our finances ; and the 
duty was accomplished with characteristic sagacity. 
When I reached Boston, a few days after the purchase 



8 VESSEL PURCHASED. 

had been made, I found the vessel lying at a wharf, 
heavily laden with a cargo brought from the West 
Indies. She was a strong, snug, jaunty looking craft, 
and appeared to be well adapted for the peculiar 
service to which she was destined. Her "register" 
quaintly set forth that she was " A 1," that she meas- 
ured one hundred and thirty-three tons burden, that 
she was a fore-and-aft schooner, drew eight feet of 
water, and was named Spring Hill. For this name 
we at once substituted United States, which change 
w^as, upon my memorial, subsequently confirmed by 
act of Congress. 

The season was now growing very late. Before 
the vessel had been purchased it was fully time that 
I should have been upon my voyage, and every day's 
delay added to my anxiety lest I should be unable to 
penetrate the Baffin's Bay ice, and secure a harbor 
before the winter had shut out all access to the land. 
It was therefore with no small degree of satisfaction 
that I saw the schooner on the ways in the ship- 
yard of Mr. Kelly in East Boston, and the work of 
refitting her going rapidly forward. 

As a protection against the wear and pressure of the 
ice, a §trong sheathing of two and a half inch oak 
planking was spiked to her sides, and the bows were 
cased with thick iron plates as far aft as the fore- 
chains. Internally she was strengthened with heavy 
beams, crossing at intervals of twelve feet a little 
lielow the water-line, which, as well as the deck-tim- 
bers, were supported by additional knees and diagonal 
braces. For convenience of working among the ice, 
her rig was changed from a fore-and-aft to a foretop- 
sail schooner. 

Owing to many unavoidable delays, the month of 



PREPAEATION. 9 

June had almost passed before the schooner was 
brought to the wharf in Boston to receive her cargo. 
Much of this cargo was made up of voluntary gift 
offerings, "in the cause of science," and came from 
various places, and, as these " offerings " arrived irreg- 
ularly, there was naturally much confusion in the 
storage. It will not therefore appear surprising that 
our departure was several days delayed. One month 
was indeed a short time, even under the most favor- 
able circumstances, to fit a vessel, purchase and store a 
complicated cargo, construct and get together sledges, 
boats, and other equipments for travelling, obtain in- 
struments and all the requisite materials for scientific 
exploration, — in short, to accumulate the various 
odds and ends necessary for so unusual and protracted 
a voyage. It was a busy month, and into no equal 
period of my life did I ever crowd so much labor and 
anxiety. 

The selection of my ship's company gave me not 
a little concern. Of material from which to choose 
there was quite an ample supply. In numbers there 
were indeed enough to have fitted out a respectable 
squadron ; but it was not easy to find those whose 
constitutions and habits of life fitted them for the 
service. The greater number of the volunteers had 
never been to sea, and most of them were eager 
"to serve in any capacity," — a declaration which, too 
often on this, as on other occasions, I have found to 
signify the absence of any capacity at all. 

I esteemed myself fortunate in securing the ser- 
vices of my former companion and friend in the Grrin- 
nell Expedition, Mr. August Sonntag, who early volun- 
teered to join me from Mexico, in which country he 
was engaged in conducting some important scientific 



10 OFFICERS AND CREW. 

explorations. He even proposed to me that he should 
abandon the work upon which he was then employed, 
in order to aid me in the preliminary preparations. 
Returning to the United States in 1859, he was ap- 
pointed to the Dudley Observatory, Albany, and, to 
accompany me, he sacrificed the fine position of Asso- 
ciate Director of that institution. 

My party, when at length completed, numbered 
fourteen persons all told, as follows : — 

August Sonntag, Astronomer, and second in command. 

S. J. McCoRMiCK, Sailing Master. 

Henry W. Dodge, Mate. 

Henry G. Radcliffe, Assistant Astronomer. 

George F. Knorr, Commander's Secretary. 

Collin C. Starr, Master's Mate. 

Gibson Caruthers, Boatswain and Carpenter. 

Francis L. Harris, Volunteer. 

Harvey Heywood, Volunteer. 

John McDonald, Seaman. 

Thomas Barnum, Seaman. 

Charles McCormick, Seaman. 

WiLLiAiM Miller, Seaman. 

John Williams, Seaman. 

Our equipment for scientific observations was rea- 
sonably perfect. The Smithsonian Institution fur- 
nished a good supply of barometers and thermometers, 
besides other apparatus not less important, and also 
spirits, cans, and other materials for the collection 
and preservation of specimens of Natural History. 
In this latter department I owe especial obligations to 
the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, and 
also to the Cambridge Museum. From the skilful 
maker, Mr. John Tagiiabeau, of New York, I had a 
handsome present of spirit thermometers. From the 
Topographical Bureau at Washington, through the 



SCIENTIFIC OUTFIT. 11 

courtesy of its chief, I was supplied with two pocket- 
sextants, instruments which could not have been ob- 
tained either by purchase or loan elsewhere. I had 
hoped to secure from the National Observatory the 
use of a deep-sea sounding apparatus, until it was 
made known to me that the concession was not pro- 
vided for by act of Congress. Outside of the limits 
of nautical routine I fared better. The Chief of the 
Coast Survey furnished me with a vertical circle, which 
contained the double advantage of a transit and the- 
odolite, a well-tested unifilar magnetometer, a reflect- 
ing circle, a Wurdeman compass, and several other 
valuable instruments. We had five chronometers, — 
three box and two pocket, which last were intended 
for use in sledge travelling. We had an excellent tel- 
escope, with a four and a half inch object-glass ; and, 
under the. joint superintendence of the late Professor 
Bond, of Cambridge, and Mr. Sonntag, I caused to be 
constructed a pendulum apparatus after the plan of 
Foster's instrument. 

I lacked not instruments, but men. My only well- 
instructed associate was Mr. Sonntag. 

Our outfit was altogether of the very best descrip- 
tion, and our larder contained every thing that could 
reasonably be desired. An abundant supply of canned 
meats, vegetables, and fruits insured us against scurvy, 
and a large stock of desiccated beef, beef soup, (a 
mixture of meat, carrots, onions, &c.,) and potatoes, 
prepared expressly for me by the American Desiccat- 
ing Company of New York, gave us a light and port- 
able food for the sledge journeys. I preferred the 
food in this form to the ordinary jjemican. We were 
amply provided with good warm woollen clothing, and 
four large bales of buffalo-skins promised each of us 



12 READY TO SAIL. 

the materials for a coat and protection against the 
Arctic winds. A good stock of rifles and guns, and a 
plentiful supply of ammunition, finished our guar- 
antees against want. We had forty tons of coal and 
wood in the hold, and a quantity of pine boards, in- 
tended for housing over the upper deck when in win- 
ter quarters. 

Our sledges were constructed after a pattern fur- 
nished by myself, and the tents, cooking-lamps, and 
other camp fixtures, were manufactured under my 
personal supervision. From numerous friends, whose 
names I cannot here mention without violatino^ the 
obligations of confidence, we received books and a 
great quantity of " small stores " which were after- 
ward greatly appreciated during our winter imprison- 
ment in the ice. 

We had expected to sail on the 4th of July, and 
the friends of the Expedition were invited by the 
Boston Committee, througli its secretary, Mr. 0. W. 
Peabody, to see us off Although the day was dark 
and drizzly many hundreds of persons were present. 
Through some unavoidable accident we did not get 
away. The guests, however, made us the recipients 
of their best wishes, and when the members of my 
little command (assembled together on that day for 
the first time) found themselves addressed in turn by 
the Governor of the State, the Mayor of the City, 
and the President of Harvard, and by renowned 
statesmen, orators, divines and merchants of Boston, 
and by savans of Cambridge, the measure of their 
happiness was full. Inspired by the interest thus so 
conspicuously manifested in their fortunes, they felt 
ready for any emergency. 



THE OPEN POLAR SEA. 



CHAPTER I. 

LEAVING BOSTON. — AT ANCHOR IN NANTASKET ROADS.— AT SEA. 

Late in the evening of July 6th, 1860, the schooner 
United States was hauled into the stream, prepared 
to leave port the following morning. 

The morning dawned clear and auspicious. Upon 
going on board, I found that a number of friends 
whom I had invited to accompany us down the bay 
had preceded me by half an hour. Among them were 
His Excellency the Governor of the State, and rep- 
resentatives of the Boston, New York and Philadel- 
phia committees. 

The fine, large steam-tug R. B. Forhes soon came 
alongside, alive with a gay party of well-wishers, and, 
taking the end of our hawser, started us from our an- 
chorage. As we passed Long Wharf we were honored 
with a salute from a battery which the Mayor of the 
city had sent down for that purpose, and numerous 
parting cheers greeted us as we steamed down the 
bay. 

The wind being unfavorable, we dropped anchor 
for the night in Nantasket Roads. The tug took 
most of our friends back to Boston, and I was left in 
my cabin with the official representatives of the pro- 
moters of the enterprise, engaged in the last of our 



14 LEAVmG BOSTON. 

numerous consultations. A handful of papers were 
put into my possession, and I became the sole owner 
of the schooner United States and the property on 
board of her. The sun had set before our conference 
ended, and the wind promising to hold from the east- 
ward during the night, I returned to Boston with Mr. 
Baker, in his yacht. 

Upon arriving at the schooner next morning, I 
found that the executive officer had availed himself 
of the delay to break out the ship's hold and effect a 
better stowage of the deck cargo. Indeed, we were 
in no condition for going to sea. Many of the stores 
were hurried on board at the last moment, and the 
deck was literally covered with boxes and bales, 
which, in the haste of departure, could not be stowed 
away. It was long after nightfall when the hatches 
were closed and every thing secured ; but as the pilot 
did not come on board, we were compelled to wait 
until daylight. 

I passed the night on Mr. Baker's yacht, which lay 
near by, with some kind friends who would not quit us 
until they saw us fairly off. The pretty yachts /Stella 
and Hotmrd, to whose gentlemanly owners I was in- 
debted for courteous attentions, also kept us com]3any. 

With the first gray streak of the dawning day, this 
little fleet tripped their anchors and glided home, 
bearing our last good-byes, while we, with a fair wind, 
stood out to sea. 

Before the night closed in, the coast had sunk out 
of sight, and I was once more tossing on the waves 
of the broad Atlantic. Again I saw the sun sink be- 
neath the line of waters, and I watched the chano-ino- 
clouds which hung over tlie land I had left behind me, 
until the last faint flush of gold and crimson had 



FIEST NIGHT AT SEA. 15 

melted away into the soft twilight. Creeping then 
into my damp, narrow bunk. I slejDt the first long, un- 
broken sleep I had had for weeks. The expedition 
which had absorbed so much of my attention during 
the past five years was now fairly on its way. Trust- 
ing in Providence and my own energy, I had faith in 
the future. 




CHAPTER 11. 

PASSAGE TO THE GREENLAND COAST.— DISCIPLINE. — THE DECKS AT SEA. — 
OUR QUARTERS. —THB'^IRST ICEBERG. — CROSSING THE ARCTIC CIRCLE.— 
THE MIDNIGHT SUN.— THE ENDLESS DAY. — MAKING THK LAND.— A REMARK- 
ABLE SCENE AMONG THE BERGS.— AT ANCHOR IN PROVEN HARBOR. 

I WILL not long detain the reader with the details 
of our passage to the Greenland coast. It was mainly 
devoid of interest. 

My first concern was to regulate the domestic af- 
fairs of my little company ; my second, to make the 
schooner as tidy and comfortable as possible. The 
former was much more easily managed than the lat- 
ter. Calling the officers and crew together, I ex- 
plained to them that, inasmuch as we would for a long 
time constitute our own little world, we must all rec- 
ognize the obligations of a mutual dependence and 
the ties of mutual safety, interest, and ambition. 
Keeping this in view, we would find no hardship in 
making all selfish considerations subordinate to the 
necessities of a mutual accommodation. The response 
was highly gratifying to me, and I had afterward 
abundant reason to congratulate myself upon having 
at the outset established the relations of the crew with 
myself upon such a satisfactory footing. To say noth- 
ing of its advantages to our convenience, this course 
saved much trouble. From the beginning to the end 
of the cruise I had no occasion to record a breach of 
discipline ; and I did not find it necessary to estabhsh 



THE DECKS. 17 

an}^ other rules than those which are usual in all well 
disciplined ships. 

To make the schooner comfortable was impractica- 
ble, and to make her tidy equally so. I found my- 
self rocking; about on the Atlantic with decks in a 
condition to have sorely tried the patience of the 
most practised sailor. Barrels, boxes, boards, boats, 
and other articles were spiked or lashed to the bul- 
warks and masts, imtil all available space was covered, 
and there was left only a narrow, winding pathway 
from the quarter to the forecastle deck, and no place 
whatever for exercise but the tojD of the trunk cabin, 
which was just twelve feet by ten ; and even this was 
partly covered, and that too with articles which, if 
they have existence, should at least never be in sight 
on a well-re o-ulated craft. But this was not to be 
helped, — there was no room for any thing more be- 
low hatches ; every nook and cranny in the vessel 
was full, and we had no alternative but to allow the 
decks to be " lumbered up " until some friendly sea 
should come and wash the incumbrance overboard. 
(We were entirely too prudent to throw any thing 
away.) That such an event would happen seemed 
likely enough, for we were loaded down until the 
deck, in the waist, was only a foot and a half above 
the water ; and, standing in the gangway, you could 
at any time lean over the monkey-rail and touch the 
sea with j^our fingers. The galley filled up the entire 
space between the fore hatch and the mainmast • and 
the water, coming in over the gangway, poured 
through it frequently without restraint. The cook 
and the fire were often put out together, and the 
regularity of our meals was a little disturbed in con- 
sequence. 

2 



18 THE CABIN. 

My cabin occupied the after-half of the " trunk." 
(which extended two feet above the quarter-deck,) 
and was six feet by ten. Two " bull's-eyes " gave me 
a feeble light by day, and a kerosene lamp, which 
creaked uneasily in its gimbals, by night. Two berths 
let, one into either side, furnished commodious recep- 
tacles for ship's stores. The carpenter, however, fixed 
up a narrow bunk for me ; and when I had covered 
this with a brilliant afghan, and enclosed it with a pair 
of crimson curtains, I was astonished at the amount 
of comfort which I had manufactured for myself 

The narrow space in front of my cabin contained 
the companion ladder, the steward's pantry, the stove- 
pipe, a barrel of flour, and a " room " for Mr. Sonntag. 
Forward of this, two steps down in the hold, was the 
officers' cabin, which was exactly twelve feet square 
by six feet high. It was oak-panelled, and had eight 
bunks, happily not all occupied. It was not a com- 
modious apartment. The men's quarters were under 
the forecastle deck, close against the "dead-wood" of 
the " ship's eyes." They, too, were necessarily crowded 
for room. 

Our course from Boston lay directly for the outer 
capes of Newfoundland, inside of Sable Island. Every 
one who has sailed down the coast of Nova Scotia 
knows the nature of the fogs which hang over the 
banks, especially during the warm season of the year ; 
and we had our full measure of the embarrassing 
fortune which usually befalls the navigator of those 
waters. 

We ran into a fog bank on the second day out from 
Boston, and for seven days thereafter were enveh 
oped in an atmosphere so dense as completely to 
obscure the sun and horizon. We could, of course, 



"BREAKEKS AHEAD." 19 

obtain no "sights," and, during that period, were 
obliged in consequence to rely for our position upon 
the lead line and our dead reckoning. Uncertain cur- 
rents made this last a method of doubtful depend- 
ence. 

On the sixth day of this seemingly endless fog I 
grew rather more than usually uneasy ; but the sail- 
ing-master assured me that he was certain of our 
position ; and, with the map before us on the table, 
he proved it by the soundings. We would clear Cape 
Eace in the morning watch. 

The morning watch found me on deck, and, as be- 
fore, our position was shown by the record of the lead. 
The lead was a false prophet, for instead of running 
outside we were rushing squarely upon the cape. 
Satisfied, however, by the assurances which I had re- 
ceived, I went below to breakfast, and had scarcely 
been seated when that most disagreeable of all cries, 
— once heard, never to be forgotten, — " Breakers 
ahead ! " startled us. Upon reaching the deck, I found 
the sails shivering in the wind, and almost within pistol- 
shot rose a great black wall, against which the sea 
was breaking in a most threatening manner. Fortu- 
natel}^ the schooner came quickly to the wind and 
held in stays, otherwise we must have struck in a 
very few minutes. As it was, we settled close upon 
the rocks before the sails filled and we began to crawl 
slowly off The sj)ray, thrown back from the sullen 
cliff, actually fell upon the deck, and it seemed as if I 
could almost touch the rocks with my hand. We 
were soon relieved by seeing the dark fog-veil drawn 
between us and danger. But the danger was, appa- 
rently, not yet passed. In half an hour the wind died 
away almost to a calm, leaving us a heavy sea to fight 



20 ACROSS THE ARCTIC CIRCLE. 

with, while out of the blackness came the wail of the 
angry surf bemoaning the loss of its prey. 

The wind increased toward noon, and freed us from 
suspense. Resolved this time to give Cape Race a 
wide berth, we ran off E. S. E., and not until I was 
sure, by the color of the water, that Newfoundland 
was at a safe distance, did I let the schooner fill away 
on her course toward Cape Farewell. By this time 
a stiff breeze was blowing from the south, and as the 
night closed in we were running before the wind un- 
der a close-reefed topsail. 

A succession of southerly gales now chased us 
northward, and we hauled in our latitude with gratify- 
ing rapidity. In a few days we were ploughing the 
waters which bathe the rock-bound coasts of Green- 
land. 

On the 30th of July I had the satisfaction of being 
once more within the Arctic Circle. That imaginary 
line was crossed at eiojht o'clock in the evenino-, and 
the event was celebrated by a salute from our signal- 
gun and a display of bunting. 

We now felt that we had fairly entered upon our 
career. 

We were twenty days out from Boston, and had 
made throughout an average run of a hundred miles 
a day. The schooner had proved herself an excel- 
lent sea-boat. The coast of Greenland was about 
ten leagues away, obscured by a cloud ; we had 
Cape Walsingham on the port beam, and the lofty 
Suckertoppen would have been visible over the star- 
board quarter had the air been clear. We had not 
yet, however, sighted the land, but we had made our 
first iceberg, we had seen the ''midnight sun," and 
we had come into the endless day. When the hour- 



THE FIRST ICEBERG. 21 

hand of the Yankee clock which ticked above my 
head pointed to XII., the sunhght still flooded the 
cabin. Accustomed to this strange life in former 
years, the change had to me little of novelty ; but 
the officers complained of sleeplessness, and were 
lounging about as if waiting for the old-fashioned 
darkness which suggests bed-time. 

The first iceberg was made the day before we 
passed the Arctic Circle. The dead white mass broke 
upon us out of a dense fog, and was mistaken by the 
lookout for land when he first caught the sound of 
breakers beating upon it. It was floating directly in 
our course, but we had time enough to clear it. Its 
form was that of an irregular pyramid, about three 
hundred feet at its base, and perhaps half as high. Its 
summit was at first obscured, but at length the mist 
broke away, disclosing the peak of a glittering spire, 
around which the white clouds were curling and danc- 
ing in the sunhght. There was something very im- 
pressive in the stern indifference with which it re- 
ceived the lashings of the sea. The waves threw their 
liquid arms about it caressingly, but it deigned not 
even a nod of recognition, and sent them reeling back- 
ward, moaning and lamenting. 

We had some rough handling in Davis' Strait. 
Once I thought we had surely come ingloriously to 
grief We were running before the wind and fighting 
a wretched cross-sea under reefed fore and mainsail 
and jib, when the fore fife-rail was carried away ; — 
down came every thing to the deck, and there was left 
not a stitch of canvas on the schooner but the lum- 
bering mainsail. It was a miracle that we did not 
broach to and go to the bottom. Nothing saved us 
but a steady hand at the helm. 



22 A LAND-FALL. 

The following entry in my journal, made at this 
period, will exhibit our condition and the temper of 
the cr,ew : — 

"Notwithstanding all this knocking about, every 
body seems to take it for granted that this sort of 
thing is very natural and proper, and a part of the 
engagement for the cruise. It is at least gratifying 
to see that they take kindly to discomfort, and receive 
every freak of fortune with manly good nature. I 
really believe that were affairs otherwise ordered they 
would be sadly disappointed. They are "the small 
band of brave and spirited men " they read about in 
the newspapers, and they mean to show it. The sail- 
ors are sometimes literally drowned out of the fore- 
castle. The cabin is flooded at least a dozen times a 
day. The skylight has been knocked to pieces by the 
head of a sea, and the table, standing directly under 
it, has been more than once cleared of crockery and 
eatables without the aid of the steward. My own 
cabin gets washed out at irregular intervals, and my 
books are half of them spoiled by tumbling from their 
shelves in spite of all I can do to the contrary. Once 
I caught the whole library tacking about the deck 
after an unusually ambitious dive of the schooner, and 
the advent of a more than ordinarily heavy rush of 
water through the ' companion-way.' " 

It had been my intention to stop at Egedesmindie, 
or some other of the lower Danish stations, on the 
Greenland coast, to obtain a stock of furs, and at the 
upper settlements to procure the needful supply of 
dogs for sledge travelling ; but, the wind being fair, I 
resolved to hold on and trust to obtaining every thing 
required at Proven and Upernavik. 

We made our first land-fall on the 31st. It proved 



VIEW OF GREENLAND. 23 

to be the southern extremity of Disco Island. The 
lofty mountains broke suddenly through the thick 
mist, and exposed their hoary heads, not a little to 
our astonishment ; but they vanished again as quickly 
as they had appeared. But we had got a clutch upon 
the land, and found that, befogged though we were, 
we had calculated our position to a nicety. From this 
moment the interest of our cruise was doubled. 

The next day we were abreast the Nord Fiord of 
Disco, in latitude 70°, and, gliding on with a light 
wind, the Waigat and Oominak Fiord were soon be- 
hind us ; and on the evening of August 2d we were 
approaching the bold promontory of Svarte Huk, 
which is oiily forty miles from Proven, whither we 
were bound. 

"A man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord 
directeth his steps." Just as we were congratulating 
ourselves upon the prospect of getting an appetite for 
breakfast among the Greenland hills, the wind began 
to show decided symptoms of weakness ; and, after a 
succession of spasmodic efforts to recover itself, pro- 
longed through the next four and twenty hours, it at 
length died away completely, and left us lying on the 
still waters, impatient and ill at ease. We were sadly 
disappointed ; but the sun scattered the vapors which 
had hung so long about us, and, in the scene which 
broke out of the dissolving mist, we buried our vex- 
ation. 

Greenland had been for some time regarded by my 
companions as a sort of myth ; for, although fre- 
quently only a few miles from its coast, so thick and 
constant had been the clouds and fogs, that, except 
for a few brief minutes, it had been wholly hidden 
from our view. Here, however, it was at last, shaking 



24 AMONG THE ICEBERGS. 

off its cloud mantle, and standing squarely out before 
us in austere magnificence, — its broad valleys, its 
deep ravines, its noble mountains, its black, beetling 
clifis, its frowning desolation. 

As the fog lifted and rolled itself up like a scroll 
over the sea to the westward, iceberg after iceberg 
burst into view, like castles in a fairy tale. It seemed, 
indeed, as if we had been drawn b}^ some unseen hand 
into a land of enchantment, rather than that we had 
come of our own free will into a region of stern real- 
ities, in pursuit of stern purposes ; — as if the elves 
of the North had, in sportive playfulness, thrown a 
veil about our eyes, and enticed us to the very "seat 
eternal of the gods." Here was the Valhalla of the 
sturdy Vikings ; here the city of the sun-god Freyer, 
— Alfheim, with its elfin caves, — and Glitner, with its 
walls of gold and roofs of silver, and Gimle, more 
brilliant than the sun, — the home of the happy ; and 
there, piercing the clouds, was Himinborg, the Ce- 
lestial Mount, wdiere the bridge of the gods touches 
Heaven. 

It would be difficult to ima2:ine a scene more sol- 
emnly impressive than that which was disclosed to us 
by the sudden change in the clouded atmosphere. 
From my diary I copy the following brief description 
of it : — 

"MroNiGHT. — I have just come below, lost in the 
wondrous beauty of the night. The sea is smooth as 
glass ; not a ripple breaks its dead surface, not a 
breath of air stirring. The sun hangs close upon the 
northern horizon ; the fog has broken up into light 
clouds ; the icebergs lie thick about us ; the dark 
headlands stand boldly out against the sky ; and the 
clouds and sea and bergs and mountains are bathed in 



BEAUTY OF THE ICEBERGS. 25 

an atmosphere of crimson and gold and jourple most 
singularly beautiful." 

In all my former experience in this region of starts 
ling novelties I had never seen any thing to equal 
what I witnessed that night. The air was warm al- 
most as a summer's night at home, and yet there were 
the icebergs and the bleak mountains, with which the 
fancy, in this land of green hills and waving forests, 
can associate nothing but cold repulsiveness. The 
sky was bright and soft and strangely inspuing as the 
skies of Italy. The bergs had wholly lost their chilly 
aspect, and, glittering in the blaze of the brilliant 
heavens, seemed, in the distance, like masses of bur- 
nished metal or solid flame. Nearer at hand they 
were huge blocks of Parian marble, inlaid with mam- 
moth gems of pearl and opal. One in particular ex- 
hibited the perfection of the grand. Its form w^is not 
unlike that of the Coliseum, and it lay so far away 
that half its height was buried beneath the line of 
blood-red waters. The sun, slowly rolling along the 
horizon, passed behind it, and it seemed as if the old 
Eoman ruin had suddenly taken fire. 

Nothing indeed but the pencil of the artist could 
dejDict the wonderful richness of this sparkling frag- 
ment of Nature. Church, in his great picture of " The 
Icebergs," has grandly exhibited a scene not unlike 
that which I would in vain describe. 

In the shadows of the bergs the water was a rich 
green, and nothing could be more soft and tender 
than the gradations of color made by the sea shoaling 
on the sloping tongue of a berg close beside us. The 
tint increased in intensity where the ice overhung 
the water, and a deep cavern near by exhibited the 
solid color of the malachite mingled with the transpa- 



26 NEARIKG HARBOR. 

rency of the emerald; while, in strange contrast, a 
broad streak of cobalt blue ran diagonally through 
its body. 

The bewitching character of the scene was height- 
ened by a thousand little cascades which leaped into 
the sea from these floating masses, — the water being 
discharged from lakes of melted snow and ice which 
reposed in quietude far up in the valleys separating 
the high icy hills of their upper surface. From other 
bergs large pieces were now and then detached, — 
plunging down into the water with deafening noise, 
while the slow moving swell of the ocean resounded 
through their broken archways. 

I had been watching this scene for hours, lost in 
reverie and forgetfulness, when I was brought sud- 
denly to my senses by the master's mate, who came 
to report, "Ice close aboard, sir." We were drifting 
slowly upon a berg about the height of our topmasts. 
The boats were quickly lowered to pull us off, and, 
the schooner once more in safety, I went to bed. 

I awoke after a few hours, shivering with the cold. 
The "bull's-eye" above my head was open, and a 
chilly fog was pouring in upon me. Hurrying on 
deck, I found the whole scene changed. A dense 
gray mist had settled over the waters and icebergs 
and mountains, blending them all in chaotic gloom. 

Twenty-four days at sea had brought the water 
very low in our casks, and I took advantage of the 
delay to send off to a neighboring iceberg for a fresh 
supply. The water of these bergs is pure and clear 
as crystal. 

Getting; at last a slant of the wind, we ran in amons" 
the low islands which line the coast above Svarte 
Huk : and Sonntag, who had gone ahead in a boat to 



AT PROVEN. 27 

Proven, having sent off to us a swarthy-looking pilot, 
we wound our way slowly through the tortuous pas- 
sage, and at a little after midnight of August 6th we 
dropped anchor in the snuggest of little harbors. 
The loud baying of dogs, and an odor, baffling de- 
scription, — "a very ancient and fish-like smell," — 
first warned us of our approach to a Greenland set- 
tlement. 




CHAPTER III. 

THE COLONY OF PROVEN. — THE KAYAK OF THE GREENLANDER. — SCARCITT 
OF DOGS. — LIBERALITY OF THE CHIEF TRADER. — ARCTIC FLORA. 

We were escorted into the harbor of Proven by the 
strangest fleet of boats and the strangest-looking boat- 
men that ever convoyed a ship. They were the far- 
famed kayakers of Greenland, and they deserve a 
passing notice. 

The Jcai/ak of the G-reenlander is the frailest speci- 
men of marine architecture that ever carried human 
freight. It is eighteen feet long and as many inches 
wide at its middle, and tapers, with an upward curv- 
ing line, to a point at either end. The skeleton of 
the boat is made of light wood ; the covering is of 
tanned seal-skin, sewed together by the native women 
with sinew thread, and with a strength and dexterity 
quite astonishing. Not a drop of water finds its way 
through their seams, and the skin itself is perfectly 
water-proof The boat is about nine inches deep, and 
the top is covered like the bottom. There is no 
opening into it except a round hole in the centre, 
which admits the hunter as far as his hips. This 
hole is surrounded with a wooden rim, over which the 
kayaker laces the lower edge of his water-tight jacket, 
and thus fastens himself in and keeps the water out. 
He.>^ropels liimself with a single oar about six feet 
long, which terminates in a blade or paddle at either 
end. This instrument of locomotion is grasped in the 



THE KAYAK OF THE GREEKLANDER. 29 

centre, and is clipped in the water alternately to right 
and left. The boat is graceful as a duck and light as 
a feather. It has no ballast and no keel, and it rides 
almost on the surflice of the water. It is therefore 
necessarily top-heavy. Long practice is required to 
manage it, and no tight-rope dancer ever needed 
more steady nerve and skill of balance than this same 
savage kayaker. Yet, in this frail craft, he does not 
hesitate to ride seas which would swamp an ordinary 
boat, or to break through surf which may sweep com- 
pletely over him. But he is used to hard battles, 
and, in spite of every fortune, he keeps himself up- 
right. 

I watched their movements with much interest as 
they collected about the schooner. Among the bene- 
fits which they had derived from civilization was an 
aj)preciation of the value of rum, coffee, and tobacco ; 
and they were not overly modest in their demands 
for these articles. Most of them had, however, some- 
thing to trade, and went home with their reward. 
One old fellow who had managed to pick up a few 
words of English, without being particularly clear as 
to their meaning, was loud in his demands for a 
"pound rum, bottle sugar," offering in exchange a 
fine salmon. 

I had intended to remain at Proven only a single 
day, and then to hasten on with all possible speed ; 
but our stay was prolonged by circumstances to which 
I was forced to submit with as good a grace as possible. 
It was idle for me to leave without a supply of dogs, for 
my plans and preparations were entirel}^ based ujDon 
them ; and the prospect of accomplishing my design 
in this respect appeared, from the first, very feeble. 
In order to save time, Sonntag had gone to the vil- 



30 SCARCITY OF DOGS. 

lage when we lay becalmed off Svarte Huk, and lie 
returned on board with the most discouraging ac- 
counts of the poverty of the settlements in that 
which was such an essential addition to our equip- 
ment. A disease which had prevailed among the 
teams, during the past year, had diminished the stock 
to less than half of what was required for the pros- 
perity of the people ; and all our offers to purchase, 
either with money or provisions, were at first flatly 
refused, and were in the end only partially successful. 

Mr. Sonntag had called upon the Assistant Trader 
immediately after his arrival, and was at once informed 
by that official of the unfortunate state of affairs. He 
would, however, personally interest himself in the 
matter, and advised that we should await the arrival 
of the , Chief Trader, Mr. Hansen, who resided at 
Upernavik, which is forty miles to the north, and 
would be in Proven in a day or so. It was evident 
that nothino; could be done without the aid of this 
all-powerful public functionary, for whose arrival we 
had no alternative but to wait. If we went on to 
Upernavik we ran the hazard of missing him ; and, 
by not seeing him until his return to that settlement 
from his southern tour, of losing the advantage of his 
prompt cooperation. 

Mr. Hansen arrived the following day, and assured 
me that he would do what was in his power ; but he 
feared that he should have little success. As an ear- 
nest of his good-will, he informed me, with a delicate 
courtesy which made me for the moment wonder if a 
lordly son of Castile had not wandered to this land of 
ice, and disguised himself in a seal-skin coat, that his 
own teams were at my disposal. Beyond this, how- 
ever, he could neither advise nor command. There 



LIBERALITY OF THE CHIEF TRADER. 31 

was no public stock from which to supply my wants ; 
and so orreat and universal had been the ravag-es of 
disease among the animals, that many hunters were 
wholly destitute, and none were in possession of their 
usual number. He however at once dispatched a cou- 
rier to Upernavik, and others to various small settle- 
ments, and thus heralded the news that any hunter 
who had an extra dog would find a market for it by 
bringing it forthwith to Proven or Upernavik. 

This action of the Chief Trader was the more ap- 
preciated that it was disinterested, and was uncalled 
for either by any official demands which were laid 
upon him, or by any special show of dignity or im- 
portance with which the insignificant schooner lying 
in the harbor could back up my claims. The State 
Department at Washington had, at my solicitation, 
requested from the Danish Government such recogni- 
tion for me as had been hitherto accorded to the 
American and English naval expeditions 5 but the 
courteous response which came in the form of a com- 
mand to the Greenland officials to furnish me with 
every thing in their power did not reach the settle- 
ments until the following year. The commands of his 
Majesty the King could not, however, have stood me 
in better stead than the gentlemanly instincts of Mr. 
Hansen. 

There is little in the history of Proven, either past 
or present, that will interest the readers of this nar- 
rative. What there is of it stands on the southern 
slope of a gneissoid spur which forms the terminus of 
one of the numerous islands of the vast archipelago 
lying between the peninsula of Svarte Huk and Mel- 
ville Bay. A government-house, one story high and 
plastered over with pitch and tar, is the most conspic- 



32 THE SETTLEMENT. 

uous building in the place. A shop and a lodging- 
house for a few Danish employees stands next in im- 
portance. Two or three less imposing structures of 
the pitch and tar description, inhabited by Danes who 
have married native women ; a few huts of stone and 
turf, roofed with boards and overgrown with grass ; 
about an equal number of like description, but with- 
out the board roof, and a dozen seal-skin tents, all 
pitched about promiscuously among the rocks, make 
up the town. There is a blubber-house down hy the 
beach, and a stunted flag-staff on the liiE, from which 
the Danish Flag gracefully wa^dng in the wind, gave 
the place a show of dignity. The dignity of civiliza- 
tion was further j)reserved by an old cannon which 
lay on the grass under the flag, and whose rusty 
throat made the welkin ring as our anchor touched 
the Greenland rocks. 

The settlement, or Colonien, as the Danes distinguish 
it, dates back almost to the days of good old Hans 
Egede, and its name, as nearly as can be interjDreted, 
signifies " Experiment ; " and, after the Greenland 
fashion, a successful experiment it has been. Its peo- 
ple live, chiefly, by hunting the seal ; and, of all the 
northern colonies, few have been as prosperous. The 
collections of oil and skins during some years are suffi.- 
cient to freight a brio; of three hundred tons. 

The place bears ample evidence of the nature of 
its business. Carcasses of seals and seal's ofial lay 
strewn along the beach, and over the rocks, and 
among the huts, in every stage of decomposition ; and 
this, added to every other conceivable accumulation 
that could exhibit a barbarous contempt for the hu- 
man nose, made the first few hours of our stay there 
any thing but comfortable. 



ARCTIC FLORA. 33 

A better prospect, however, greeted us behind the 
town. A beautiful valley lay there, nestling be- 
tween the cliffs, and rich in Arctic vegetation. It 
was covered with a thick turf of moss and grasses, 
among which the Poa Arctica^ Glyceria Arciica. and Alo- 
pecurus Alpinus were most abundant. In places it was, 
indeed, a perfect marsh. Little streams of melted 
snow meandered through it, gurgling among the 
stones, or dashing wildly over the rocks. Myriads of 
little golden petaled poppies [Papaver midicaule) flut- 
tered over the green. The dandelion [Leontodon pa- 
lustre)^ close kindred of the wild flower so well known 
at home, kept it company ; the buttercup [Raniincuhis 
nivalis), with its smiling, well-remembered face, was 
sometimes seen ; and the less familiar Potentilla and 
the purple Pedicularis were dotted about here and 
there. The saxifrages, purple, white, and yellow, 
were also very numerous. I captured not less than 
seven varieties. The birch and crowberry, and the 
beautiful Andromeda, the heather of Greenland, grew 
matted together in a sheltered nook among the rocks ; 
and, in strange mimicry of Southern richness, the wil- 
lows feebly struggled for existence on the spongy turf 
With my cap I covered a whole forest of them. 

I had been in Proven in 1853, and the place had 
not changed in the interval. The old ex-trader Chris- 
tiansen was there, a little older, but not less frugal 
than before. He complained bitterly of Dr. Kane 
not having kept his promises to him, and I endeav- 
ored to mollify his wrath by assuring him that Dr. 
Kane had lost his vessel and could not return ; but 
his life had been made unhappy during seven long 
years by visions of a barrel of American flour, and 
he would not be comforted. He was scarcely able to 

3 



34 VALUE OF DOGS. 

crawl about ; but, when I sent ashore to him the cov- 
eted treasure, he found strength to break the head olit 
of the cask, to feast his eyes on the long-expected 
gratuity. His sons, each mth a brood of Esquimaux 
visaged, though flaxen-haired children, crowded around 
the present. My diary records that they were the 
best hunters in the settlement, and that they had the 
best teams of dogs ; and it also mentions, with a little 
chagrin, that they would not sell one of them. I at- 
tributed this obstinacy, at the time, to their cross old 
paternal relative ; but there were better reasons than 
this. They knew by bitter experience the risks of 
going into the long winter without an ample supply 
of dogs to carry them over the ice upon the seal hunt, 
and to part with their animals was to risk starvation. 
I offered to give them pork and beef and canned 
meats, and flour and beans ; but they preferred the 
seal and the excitement of the hunt, and refused to 
trade. 

At last the couriers had all come in, bringing un- 
welcome news. A half-dozen old' dogs and a less num- 
ber of good ones were all that I had to console myself 
for the delay; but the Chief Trader had returned to 
Upernavik, from which place I had received more en- 
couraging accounts than from the lower stations. 




CHAPTER IV. 

UPERNAVIK. — HOSPITALITY OP THE INHABITANTS. — DEATH AND BURIAL OF 
GIBSON CAHUTHERS. — A LUNCH ON BOARD. — ADIEU. 

We put to sea early in the morning of the 12th, 
and in the evening of the same day were at Uperna* 
vik. The entrance to the harbor is somewhat unsafe, 
owing to a reef which Hes outside the anchorage ; but 
we were fortunate in obtaining a native pilot at Pro- 
ven, and ran in without accident. This pilot was a 
character in his way. It seems that he had been con- 
verted from his heathen ways, and rejoiced in the 
benefits of baptism and the name of Adam. Dressed 
in a well-worn suit of seal-skins, Adam had about him 
little of the sailor trigness ; yet, though not a Palinu- 
rus, no pilot in all the world had ever a higher appre- 
ciation of his personal importance. His appearance, 
however, was not calculated to inspire any great de- 
gree of confidence in his skill ; and the sailing-master 
plied him so incessantly with questions that he at 
length grew impatient ; and, concentrating his vanity 
and knowledge into one short sentence, which signi- 
fied plainly, "I am master of the situation," he in- 
formed that officer that there was "plenty water all 
de times, no rocks altogeder," and retired with every 
mark of offended dignity. He was correct in his in- 
formation, if not in his English. 

We found the Danish brig TJiialfe lying snugly 



36 UPERNAYIK. 

moored in the harbor, and we anchored close beside 
her. This was the first vessel w^e had seen since leav- 
ing the fishing-smacks off Cape Cod. She was taking 
in oil and skins for Copenhagen, and her commander, 
Mr. Bordolf, informed me that he expected to sail in a 
few days, — a chance, at last, for letters to the anx- 
ious ones at home. 

The people of the Colony were already much ex- 
cited over the arrival of the "Danske skip," and two 
vessels in the port at once was a sight which they had 
not for a long time witnessed. The moss-covered hill 
which slopes from the town to the beach was covered 
with a motley group of men, women, and children, 
presenting quite a picturesque appearance as we ap- 
proached the anchorage. 

Mr. Hansen received me with true Scandinavian 
heartiness ; and, escorting me to the government- 
house, introduced me to the retiring Chief Trader, 
Dr. Rudolph, a very gentlemanly representative of 
the Danish Army, who was about returning home in 
the Thialfe. Over a jug of home-brewed beer and a 
Dutch pipe, we were soon discussing the prospect of 
obtaining dogs and thfe state of the ice to the north- 
ward. 

Upernavik difiers but little in its general appear- 
ance from Proven. There are a few more huts and a 
few more inhabitants ; and, from being the residence 
of the Chief Trader for the " Upernavik district," 
which includes Proven and its dependencies, it has 
attached to it something more of importance. Per- 
haps this is, in a measure, due to a quaint little church 
and a parsonage. To the parsonage I quickly found 
my way, for I fancied that from behind the neat mus- 
lin curtains of its odd little windows I detected a 



THE PARSONAGE. 37 

female face. I tapped at the door, and was ushered 
into a cosy httle apartment, (the fastidious neatness of 
which left no doubt as to the sex of its occupants,) by 
the oddest specimen of woman-kind that ever answered 
bell. She was a full-blown Esquimau, with coppery 
complexion and black hair, which was twisted into a 
knot on the top of her head. She wore a jacket 
which extended to her waist, seal-skin pantaloons, and 
boots reaching above the knees, dyed scarlet and em- 
broidered in a manner that would astonish the girls 
of Dresden. The room was redolent of the fragrant 
rose and mignonette and heliotrope, which nestled in 
the sunlight under the snow-white curtains. A canary 
chirped on its perch above the door, a cat was purring 
on the hearth-rug, and an unmistakable gentleman 
put out a soft white hand to give me welcome. It 
was the Rev. Mr. Anton, missionary of the place. 
Mrs. Anton soon emerged from a snug little chamber 
adjoining. Her sister came in immediately afterward, 
and we were soon grouped about a home-like table ; 
a genuine bottle of Lafitte, choice coffee, Danish fare, 
and Danish heartiness, quickly made us forget the 
hardships of our cramjDed life in the little tempest- 
tossed schooner. 

My visit to Mr. Anton had, however, an association 
of much sadness. A valued member of my party, 
Mr. Gibson Caruthers, had died during the previous 
night, and I called to ask the missionary to officiate at 
the funeral service. His consent was promj)tly given, 
and the hour of burial was fixed for the following 
day. 

The burial of a companion, at any time painful, was 
doubly so to us, isolated as we were from the world. 
The deceased had endeared himself to all on board by 



38 AN" AECTIC SEPULCHRE. 

his excellent qualities of head and heart; and the 
suddenness of his death made the impression upon his 
late associates all the more keenly felt. He had re- 
tired the night before in perfect health, and was found 
dead in his berth next morning. To the expedition 
he was a serious loss. Besides Mr. Sonntag, he was 
the only member of my party who had been in the 
Arctic seas, and I had counted much upon his knowl- 
edge and intelligence. He had served under De Haven 
in the First Grinnell Expedition of 1850-51, and had 
brought home an excellent record for fortitude and 
daring. 

The burial-ground at Upernavik is a sad place for 
human sepulture. It lies on the hill-side above the 
town, and is dreary and desolate past description. 
It is made up of a series of rocky steps, on which lie, 
covered over with piles of stones, (for there is no 
earth,) a few rude coffins, — mournful resting-place 
for those who sleep here their last sleep in the everlast- 
ing winter. The body of poor Caruthers hes upon a 
ledge overlooking the sea, which he loved so well, and 
the beating surf will sing for him an eternal requiem. 

We were detained four days at Upernavik, collect- 
ing dogs and accumulating the elements of an Arctic 
wardrobe. This last consisted of reindeer, seal, and 
dog skins, a quantity of which had been obtained at 
Proven, and placed in the hands of the native women, 
to be converted into suitable garments. The boots 
required the longest time to manufacture. They are 
made of tanned seal-skin, sewed with sinew, and are 
" crimped " and fitted to the foot in a very ingenious 
manner. When properly made they are perfectly 
water-proof The boot worn by the half civilized na- 
tive women is really a pretty as well as serviceable 



I # 



POPULATIOJT OF UPERNAVIK. 39 

piece of cunning needlework. The tanned seal-skin, 
by alternate freezing and thawing, and exposure to 
the sun, becomes perfectly bleached, and in that con- 
dition is readily stained with any color which woman's 
caprice may suggest, or the Chief Trader may happen 
to have in his store-room. The women of Greenland 
are not exempt from the graceful vanities of other 
lands. They are fond of gay colors, and do not dis- 
dain admiration. Red boots, or white, trimmed with 
red, seemed to be most in vogue, though, indeed, there 
is no more an end to the variety than there is to the 
strangeness of the fancy which suggests it. It would 
be difficult to imagine a more ludicrous sight than 
Avas presented by the crowd of red and yellow and 
white and purple and blue legged women who crowded 
along the beach as we entered the harbor. 

The population of Upernavik numbers about two 
hundred souls, comprising about twenty Danes, and a 
larger number of half-breeds, the remainder being na- 
tive Greenlanders, that is, l^squimaux. I shall have 
more to say of them hereafter, my purpose now being 
to carry the reader as rapidly as possible to the scene 
of our explorations. He may indeed have as much 
anxiety to get away from Upernavik as I had. 

Through the kindness of Mr. Hansen, I obtained 
here three native hunters, and also an interpreter. 
This latter had taken passage by the Thialfe for Co- 
penhagen, but he could not withstand the tempting 
offer which I made him, and he quickly transferred 
himself from the Danish brig to our crowded cabin. 
He was a hearty, strong man, had lived in Green- 
land for ten years ; and, being more than usually in- 
telhgent, had picked up on board the English whale- 
ships a sufficient knowledge of the English language 



40 NEW RECRUITS. 

to insure his being a very useful member of my partj- 
in the event of our falUng in with Esquimaux, vdth 
whose language he was perfectly familiar. Besides, 
he was an excellent hunter and dog-driver ; and, by 
joining me, I secured his team of dogs, the finest in 
all North Greenland. But unfortunately this involved 
another halt, for they were sixty miles up the coast, 
at Tessuissak, a small hunting station of which he was 
Trader at the time of obtaining his leave of absence 
to go home for the year. I also shipped two Danish 
sailors, thus increasing my party to twenty souls. As 
the new recruits will figure frequently in these pages, 
I give their names : — 

Peter Jensen, Interpreter and dog-manager. 

Carl Emil Olswig, Sailor. 

Carl Christian Petersen, Sailor and Carpenter. 

Peter (converted Esquimau), Hunter and dog-driver. 
Marcus, " " " " 

Jacob, " " " " 

I owe much to the kindly disposition of the inhab- 
itants of Upernavik. Their simple though cordial 
hospitality was a refreshing incident of our cruise ; 
and the constant desire to supply my wants, and the 
pains which they took to furnish what I so much 
needed, is gratefully remembered. If those in author- 
ity had allowed me to shift for myself I should have 
been badly off" indeed. I mention it to their credit 
that they refused compensation of every kind ; and it 
was not without great effort that I could prevail upon 
any of them to accept so much as a barrel of flour or 
a box of canned food. " You will want them more 
than we," was the uniform answer. The Chief Trader 
actually sent aboard a present I had made him in re- 
turn for the fine team of dogs which I owed to his 
generosity. 



A LUNCH ON BOARD. 41 

It was in some measure to show my appreciation 
of the spirit which prompted these warm-hearted peo- 
ple tliat I resolved to signalize our departure with a 
lunch to the representatives of King Frederick the 
Seventh, at this most northern outpost of Christian 
settlement. Accordingly I sent my secretary, Mr. 
Knorr, out with some formal-looking invitations, got- 
ten up in all the dignity of Parisian paper and rose- 
scented wax. He came back in a few hours with 
three couples. Two of the ladies were from the par- 
sonage ; the other was the wife of the Chief Trader. 
Dr. Rudolph, Mr. Hansen, and the missionary, were 
their escorts. The master of the Thialfe was already 
on board. 

Meanwhile our old Swedish cook had gone half 
crazy, and the steward kept him company. To pre- 
pare a lunch for ladies in these high latitudes was not 
within their conception of the hard-fisted require- 
ments of exploration dignity. They " could not un- 
derstand it." The steward contrived, however, to 
stow away in the bunks the seal-skins which encum- 
bered the cabin, and thus got rid of all our Greenland 
rubbish but the odor. But it was not until the clean 
white table-cloth, which he produced from some out' 
of-the-way locker, was covered with the smoking dishes 
which his ingenuity had contrived, that his face was 
lit up with any thing approaching the kindly. Being, 
however, in a general way a mild-mannered man, his 
ferocious looks did not materially affect the progress 
of the preparations ; and the solemn face with which 
he predicted, in great confidence, to the cook that 
"such folly would bring us all to ruin, indeed it 
would," at length wore a ghastly smile, and finally 
exhibited decided manifestations of a forgiving dis- 



42 A LUKCH ON BOARD. 

position. Indeed, he was in the end very proud of hia 
" spread." 

In truth, the spread was a very creditable affair. 
The contents of our hermetically sealed cans furnished 
a welcome variety to these dwellers in the land of 
seals ; the lakes of Greenland supplied some noble 
salmon, and my lockers contributed something from 
sunny France and golden Italy, and the materials for 
an excellent punch from Santa Cruz. At first we got 
on badly with the conversation, but by and by Eng- 
lish, Danish, German, and bad Latin became mixed 
harmoniousl}^ together like the ingredients of the 
punch ; healths were drunk, — to the King, to the 
President, to all good fortune, to ourselves, and 
speeches were made, in which were duly set forth 
the glorious memories of the children of Odin. The 
merriment was waxing warm. Some one, stimulated 
perhaps by a recent tribute of praise to the valiant 
Harold and the Russian Maiden, and the fights and 
loves of the vikings generally, had just proposed that 
best toast of the sailor, " sweethearts and wives," and 
obtained a fitting response, when the heavy thump 
of a pair of mammoth sea-boots was heard on the 
companion-ladder, and the master's mate broke in 
upon us like the ghost of Banquo. 

" The officer of the deck directs me to report, sir, 
that the dogs are all aboard, sir, and that he is hove 
short on the anchor, as ordered, sir." 

" How 's the wind ? " 

" Light, and southerly, sir." 

There was no help for it. The guests must be got 
away. The ladies' " things " were hunted up ; the la- 
dies themselves were hurried over the gangway into 
the boat -, Dr. Rudolph took charge of our letters, 



FAREWELL TO UPERNAVIK. 



43 



promising to deliver them to the American consul at 
Copenhagen ; " click, click," went the windlass -, up 
went our white wings, and the last link which bound 
us to the world — the world of love and warm skies 
and green meadows — was fairly broken, when we 
caught ftom the hill-top the last glimpse of a gay 
ribbon and the last flutter of a white handkerchief. 




CHAPTER V. 

AMONG THE ICEBERGS. — DANGERS OF ARCTIC NAVIGATION. — A NARROW 
ESCAPE FROM A CRUMBLING BERG. — MEASUREMENT OF AN ICEBERG. 

Upernavik is not less the limit of safe navigation 
than the remotest boundary of civilized existence. 
The real hardships of our career commenced before its 
little white gabled church was fairly lost against the 
dark hills behind it. A heavy line of icebergs was dis- 
covered to lie across our course ; and, having no alter- 
native, we shot in among them. Some of them proved 
to be of enormous size, upwards of two hundred feet 
in height and a mile long ; others were not larger 
than the schooner. Their forms were as various as 
their dimensions, from solid wall-sided masses of dead 
whiteness, with waterfalls tumbling from them, to an 
old weather-worn accumulation of gothic spires, whose 
crystal peaks and sharp angles melted into the blue 
sky. They seemed to be endless and numberless, and 
so close together that at a little distance they ap- 
peared to form upon the sea an unbroken canopy of 
ice j and when fairly in among them the horizon was 
completely obliterated. Had we been in the centre 
of the Black Forest, we could not have been more ab- 
solutely cut off from " seeing daylight." As the last 
streak of the horizon faded from view between the 
lofty bergs behind us, the steward (who was of a po- 
etical turn of mind) came from the galley, and halting 



AMONG THE ICEBERGS. 45 

for an instant, cast one lingering look at the opening, 
and then dropped through the companion scuttle, re- 
peating from the " Inferno " : — 

" They who enter here leave hope behind." 

The officers were calling from below for their coffee, 
and it was never discovered whether the steward was 
thinking of the cabin or the icebergs. 

During four days we continued threading our way 
through this apparently interminable labyrinth. The 
days passed wearily away, for the wind, at best but a 
"cat's paw," often died away to a dead calm, leaving 
us to lounge through the hours in a chilly fog or in 
the broad blaze of the constant daylight. If this state 
of things had its novelty, it had too its dangers and 
anxieties. 

The bergs, influenced only by the under-currents, 
were, to us, practically stationary ; and the surface 
flow of the water which drifted us to and fro, when 
we lost our steerage-way, rendered our situation any 
thing but safe. They soon came to be looked upon 
as our natural enemies, and were eyed with suspicion. 
We were often drifted upon them, and escaped not 
without difficulty and alarm ; and many times more 
we saved ourselves from collision by the timely low- 
ering of the boats and taking the schooner in tow, or 
by planting an ice-anchor in another berg and warp- 
ing ourselves into greater security. Sometimes we 
tied up to a berg and waited for the wind. We had 
hard work, and made little progress. I found con- 
solation, however, in my sketch-book, which was in 
constant use ; and one fine day I got out my photo 
graphic apparatus. Landing on a neighboring island, 
with the aid of my two young assistants, Radcliffe and 



46 PHOTOGRAPHING. 

Knorr, I made my first trial at this new business. It 
was altogether unsatisfactory, except to convince me 
that, with perseverance, we might succeed in obtain- 
ing at least fair pictures. 

Practically I knew nothing whatever of the art. It 
was a great disappointment to me that I could not 
secure for the expedition the services of a professional 
photographer ; but this deficiency did not, I am happy 
to say, prevent me, in the end, from obtaining some 
views characteristic* of the rugged beautieg of the Arc- 
tic landscape. We had, however, only books to guide 
us. With our want of knowledge and an uncomfort- 
able temperature to contend with, we labored under 
serious disadvantages. 

Sonntag went ashore with me, and obtained good 
sextant sights for our position, and some useful results 
with the magnetometer. Knorr added to my collec- 
tion some fine specimens of birds. The gulls, mol- 
limuks and burgomeisters, the chattering kittiwake 
and the graceful tern were very numerous. They 
fairly swarmed upon the bergs. The hunters were 
often out after eider-ducks, large flocks of which con- 
gregate upon the islands, and sweep over us in long 
undulating lines. Seals, too, were sporting about the 
vessel, bobbing their intelligent, almost human-looking 
faces up and down in the still water, marks for the 
fatal rifles of our sportsmen. They looked so curi- 
ously innocent while making their inspections of us 
that I would not have had the heart to kill them, 
were it not that they were badly needed for the dogs. 

We led a strange weird sort of life, — a spice of 
danger, with much of beauty and a world of magnifi- 
cence. I should have found pleasure in the lazy hours, 
but that each hour thus spent was one taken from my 



IN DAlsTGER. 47 

more serious purposes, and this reflection made the 
days irksome to me. 

Four days of almost constant cahii would tax the 
patience of even Job-like resignation. We had a 
breath of wind now and then to tantalize us, treach- 
erous currents to keep us ever anxious, icebergs al- 
ways threatening us ; now at anchor, then moored to 
a berg, and again keeping free from danger through a 
hard struggle with the oars. We had many narrow 
escapes, one of which, as illustrating a peculiar feature 
of Arctic navigation, is perhaps worthy of more par- 
ticular record. 

We had made a little progress during the night, 
but soon after breakfast the wind died away, and the 
schooner lay like a log upon the water. Giving too 
little heed to the currents, we were eagerly watching 
the indications of wind which appeared at the south, 
and hoping for a breeze, when it was discovered that 
the tide had changed, and was stealthily setting us 
upon a nest of bergs which lay to leeward. One 
of them was of that description known among the 
crew by the significant title of " Touch me not," and 
presented that jagged, honey-combed appearance in- 
dicative of great age. They are unpleasant neigh- 
bors. The least disturbance of their equilibrium may 
cause the whole mass to crumble to pieces, and woe 
be unto the unlucky vessel that is caught in the dis- 
solution. 

In such a trap it seemed, however, that we stood a 
fair chance of being ensnared. The current was car- 
rying us along at an uncomfortably rapid rate. A 
boat was lowered as quickly as possible, to run out a 
line to a berg which lay grounded about a hundred 
yards from us. While this was being done, we grazed 



48 FIGHTING AIT ICEBERG. 

the side of a berg which rose a hundred feet above 
our topmasts, then slipped past another of smaller 
dimensions. By pushing against them with our ice- 
poles we changed somewhat the course of the schoon- 
er ; but when we thought that we were steering clear 
of the mass which we so much dreaded, an eddy 
changed the direction of our drift, and carried us al- 
most broadside upon it. 

The schooner struck on the starboard quarter, and 
the shock, slight though it was, disengaged some frag- 
ments of ice that were large enough to have crushed 
the vessel had they struck her, and also many little 
lumps which rattled about us ; but fortunately no per- 
son was hit. The quarter-deck was quickly cleared, 
and all hands, crowding forward, anxiously watched 
the boat. The berg now began to revolve, and was 
settling slowly over us ; the little lumps fell thicker 
and faster upon the after-deck, and the forecastle was 
the only place where there was the least chance of 
safety. 

At length the berg itself saved us from destruction. 
An immense mass broke off from that part which was 
beneath the surface of the sea, and this, a dozen times 
larger than the schooner, came rushing up within a few 
yards of us, sending a vast volume of foam and water 
flying from its sides. This rupture arrested the revo- 
lution, and the berg began to settle in the ojDposite 
direction. And now came another danger. A long 
tongue was protruding immediately underneath the 
schooner ; already the keel was slipping and grinding 
upon it, and it seemed probable that we should be 
knocked up into the air like a foot-ball, or at least 
capsized. The side of our enemy soon leaned from us, 
and we were in no danger from the worse than hail- 



PULLING FOR LIFE. 49 

stone-showers which had driven us forward ; so we 
sprang to the ice-poles, and exerted our strength in 
endeavoring to push the vessel off There were no 
idle hands. Danger respects not the dignity of the 
quarter-deck. 

After we had fatigued ourselves at this hard labor 
without any useful result, the berg came again to our 
relief A loud report first startled us ; another and 
another followed in quick succession, until the noise 
grew deafening, and the whole air seemed a reservoir 
of frightful sound. The opposite side of the berg had 
split off, piece after piece, tumbling a vast volume of 
ice into the sea, and sending the berg revolving back 
upon us. This time the movement was quicker • frag- 
ments began again to fall ; and, already sufficiently 
startled by the alarming dissolution which had taken 
place, we were in momentary expectation of seeing 
the whole side nearest to us break loose and crash 
bodily upon the schooner, in which event she would 
inevitably be carried down beneath it ; as hopelessly- 
doomed as a shepherd's hut beneath an Alpine ava- 
lanche. 

By this time Dodge, who had charge of the boat, 
had succeeded in planting an ice-anchor and attaching 
his rope, and greeted us mth the welcome signal, 
'' Haul in." We pulled for our lives, long and steadily. 
Seconds seemed minutes, and minutes hours. At 
length we began to move off Slowly and steadily 
sank the berg behind us, carrying away the main- 
boom, and grazing hard against the quarter. But we 
were safe. Twenty yards away, and the disruption 
occurred which we had all so much dreaded. The side 
nearest to us now split off, and came plunging wildly 
down into the sea, sending over us a shower of spray, 



60 CRUMBLING ICEBERGS. 

raising a swell which set us rocking to and fro as if in 
a gale of wind, and left us grinding in the debris of the 
crumbling ruin. 

At last we succeeded in extricating ourselves, and 
were far enough away to look back calmly upon the 
object of our terror. It was still rocking and rolling 
like a thing; of life. At each revolutian fresh masses 
were disengaged ; and, as its sides came up in long 
sweeps, great cascades tumbled and leaped from them 
hissing into the foaming sea. After several hours it 
settled down into quietude, a mere fragment of its for- 
mer greatness, while the pieces that were broken from 
it floated quietly away with the tide. 

Whether it was the waves created by the dissolu- 
tion which I have just described, or the sun's warm 
rays, or both combined, I cannot pretend to say, but 
the day was filled with one prolonged series of reports 
of crumbling icebergs. Scarcely had we been moored 
in safety when a very large one about two miles dis- 
tant from us, resembling in its general appearance the 
British House of Parliament, began to go to pieces. 
First a lofty tower came plunging into the water, 
starting from their inhospitable perch an immense 
flock of gulls, that went screaming up into the air; 
over went another ; then a whole side settled squarely 
down ; then the wreck capsized, and at length after 
five hours of rolling and crashing, there remained of 
this splendid mass of congelation not a fragment that 
rose fifty feet above the water. Another, which ap- 
peared to be a mile in length and upwards of a hun- 
dred feet in height, split in two with a quick, sharp, 
and at length long rumbling report, which could 
hardly have been exceeded by a thousand pieces of 
artillery simultaneously discharged, and the two frag- 



EFFECTS OF DISSOLUTION. 51 

ments kept wallowing in the sea for hours before 
they came to rest. Even the berg to which we were 
moored chimed in with the infernal concert, and dis- 
charged a corner larger than St. Paul's Cathedral. 

No words of mine can adequately describe the din 
and noise which filled our ears during the few hours 
succeeding the encounter which I have narrated, and 
therefore I borrow from the " Ancient Mariner " : — 

" The ice was here, 
The ice was there, 

The ice was all around ; 
It creaked and growled, 
And roared and howled 

Like demons in a swound." 

It seemed, indeed, as if old Thor himself had taken 
a holiday, and had come away from his kingdom of 
Thrudwanger and his Winding Palace of five hun- 
dred and forty halls, and had crossed the mountains 
with his chariot and he-goats, armed with his mace 
of strength, and girt about with his belt of prowess, 
and wearing his gauntlets of iron, for the purpose 
of knocking these Giants 'of the frost to right and 
left for his own special amusement. 

It is, however, only at this season of the year that 
the bergs are so unneighborly. They are rarely 
known to break up except in the months of July and 
August. It must be then owing to an unevenly 
heated condition of the interior and exterior, caused 
by the sun's warm rays playing upon them. From 
the sunny side of a berg I have not unfrequently seen 
pieces discharged in a line almost horizontal, with 
great force, and with an explosive report like a quar- 
ryman's blast. These explosions and the crumbling 
of the ice is always attended with a cloud of vapor, 



52 BEAUTIES OF THE ICEBERGS. 

no doubt caused by the colder ice of the interior being 
brought suddenly in contact with the warmer air. 
The effect is often very remarkable as well as beauti- 
ful, especially when the cloud reflects the rays of the 
sun. 

If, however, my pen cannot convey a picture of 
these icebergs in their more terrible aspects, it will, I 
fear, be equally impotent to portray their wondrous 
beauties. I have tried it once before, and was much 
dissatisfied with the result. I had then, however, a 
soft sky, when the whole heavens were a mass of rich, 
warm color, the sea a dissolved rainbow, and the bergs 
great floating monoliths of malachite and marble 
bathed in flame. Now the sky was gray, the air clear, 
Q,nd the ice everywhere a dead white or a cold trans- 
parent blue. 

I clambered up the sloping side of the berg to 
which we were tied, and, from an elevation of nearly 
two hundred feet, obtained a view which well repaid 
me for the trouble of the venture. T am glad to say, 
however, that I came down again before St. Paul's 
Cathedral tumbled from its corner ; an event which 
sent us drifting away to a less uncomfortable neigh- 
borhood, at the expense of an ice-anchor and eighty 
fathoms of manilla line. 

As I approached the berg, I was struck with the 
remarkable transparency of the water. Looking over 
the gunwale of the boat, I could trace the ice stretch- 
ing downward apparently to an interminable distance. 
Looking back at the schooner, its reflection was a per- 
fect image of itself, and it required only the separation 
of it from the surrounding objects to give to the mind 
the impression that two vessels, keel to keel, were float- 
ing in mid-air. This singular transparency of the water 



VIEW FROM AN ICEBERG. 53 

was further shown when I had reached the top of the 
berg. Off to the southeast a high rocky bhiff threw 
its dark shadow upon the water, and the dividing Hne 
between sunUght and shade was so marked that it re- 
quired an effort to dispel the iUusion that the margin 
of sunhght was not the edge of a fathomless abyss. 

It is difficult for the mind to comprehend the im- 
m.ense quantity of ice which floated upon the sea 
around me. To enumerate the separate bergs was 
impossible. I counted five huncired, and gave up in 
despair. Near by they stood out in all the rugged 
harshness of their sharp outlines ; and from this, soft- 
ening with the distance, they melted away into the 
clear gray sky ; and there, far off upon the sea of 
hquid silver, the imagination conjured up efligies both 
strange and wonderful. Birds and beasts and human 
forms and architectural designs took shape in the dis- 
tant masses of blue and white. The dome of St. Pe- 
ter's loomed above the spire of Old Trinity ; and under 
the shadow of the Pyramids nestled a Byzantine tower 
and a Grecian temple. 

To the eastward the sea was dotted with Httle islets, 
— dark specks upon a brilliant surface. Icebergs, 
great and small, crowded through the channels which 
divided them, until in the far distance they appeared 
massed together, terminating against a snow-covered 
plain that sloped upward until it was lost in a dim 
line of bluish whiteness. This line could be traced 
behind the serrated coast as far to the north and 
south as the eye would carry. It was the great mer 
de glace which covers the length and breadth of the 
Greenland Continent. The snow-covered slope was a 
glacier descending therefrom, — the parent stem from 
which had been discharged, at irregular intervals, 



54 TESSUISSAK. 

many of the icebergs which troubled us so much, and 
which have supphed materials for this too long de- 
scription. 

At length a strong breeze came moaning among 
the bergs, and sent us on our way rejoicing. In the 
evening of August 21st we were moored in a little 
harbor scarcely large enough for the schooner to turn 
round. We lay abreast of a rocky slope on which 
were pitched a few seal-skin tents, inhabited by a set 
of well-to-do-looking Esquimaux. I noticed two or 
three native huts, overgrown with moss and grass, and 
one, better looking than the rest, in which Jensen, my 
interpreter, informed me that he had resided. The 
place is called Tessuissak, which means "the place 
where there is a bay," Sonntag went ashore with his 
sextant and "horizon," to find out its exact position 
in the world, an event which had not before come to 
pass in its history, and which I fear was not duly ap- 
preciated by its inhabitants. 

We should have been away in a couple of hours ; 
but Jensen discovered that his team was scattered, 
and many of the animals could not be found until 
after much searching. Meanwhile some ice drifted 
across the mouth of the harbor, and hermetically 
sealed us up. 

At last the dogs were all aboard, something over 
thirty in number. The poor ones I had either given 
away or exchanged, and we had four superb teams, 
Thirty wild beasts on the deck of a little schooner ! 
Think of it, ye who love a quiet life and a tidy ship ! 
Some of them were in cages arranged along the bul- 
warks ; others running about the deck ; all of them 
badly frightened, and most of them fighting. They 
made day and night hideous with their incessant 
howling. 



MEASUREMENT OF AN ICEBEEG. 55 

We were all ready for sea, and impatient to be off. 
Our Arctic wardrobe was complete with a few pur- 
chases made of the natives in exchange for pork and 
beans. We were thoroughly prepared for the ice en- 
counters. The lines were all neatly and carefully 
coiled ; the ice-anchors and ice-hooks and ice-saws and 
ice-chisels and ice-poles were all so placed that they 
were within easy reach when wanted. The capstan 
and windlass were free, and Dodge, who had not 
forgotten his naval experience, reported " the decks 
cleared for action." Would the tide float away the ice 
and let us out ? 

I was growing very restless. The season was mov- 
ing on ; already ice began to form ; the temperature 
was below freezing. The nights made a decided scum 
on the fresh-water pools. I could count upon only 
fifteen days of open season. The Fox was frozen up 
in the ''pack" on the 26th of August, 1857, only four 
days later, notwithstanding her advantage of steam- 
power. 

I did everj^ thing I could to while away the tedium 
of this detention. I tried the photographic appara- 
tus, and with less satisfactory results than before. I 
tried dredging, without much to show for it ; botaniz- 
ing, and found nothing which I had not already in 
my Proven and Upernavik collections. The flowers 
warned me of the approach of winter. The petals 
had begun to fall, and their drooping heads wore a 
melancholy look. They seemed to be pleading with 
the chilly air for a little longer lease of life. 

One thing only was satisfactorily done. An im- 
mense iceberg lay off" the harbor, and I had the meas- 
urement of it in my note-book, and a sketch of it in 
my portfolio. The square wall which faced toward my 



56 HEADING FOR MELVILLE BAY. 

base of measurement was three hundred and fifteen feet 
high, and a fraction over three quarters of a mile long. 
The natives told me that it had been grounded for 
two years. Being almost square-sided above the sea, 
the same shape must have extended beneath it ; and 
since, by measurements made two days before, I had 
discovered that fresh-water ice floating in salt water 
has above the surface to below it the proportion of 
one to seven, this crystalized piece of Eric's Greenland 
had stranded in a depth of nearly half a mile. A rude 
estimate of this monster, made on the spot, gave me 
in cubical contents about twenty-seven thousand mil- 
lions of feet, and in weight somethina: like two thou- 
sand millions of tons. I leave the reader to calculate 
for himself its equivalent in dollars and cents, were 
it transported to the region of ice-creams and sherry- 
cobblers, and how much of it would be required to 
pay off the national debt, and how much more than 
half a century it would withstand the attacks of the 
whole civilized world upon it, for all those uses to 
which luxury-loving man puts the skimmings of the 
Boston ponds. 

The tide at length carried off the ice which impris- 
oned us, and in the evening of the 22d we were again 
threading our way among the bergs and islands. 
Cape Shackleton and the Horse's Head lay off the 
starboard bow, and we were shaping our course for 
Melville Bay. 



>^^<M^^ 



CHAPTER yi. 

ENTERING MELVILLE BAY.— THE MIDDLE ICE.— THE GREAT POLAR CURRENT 

— A SNOW STORM. — ENCOUNTER WITH AN ICEBERG. —MAKING CAPE YORK 

— RESCUE OF HANS. 

The sun was now no longer above the horizon at 
midnight, and the nights were growing gloomy, a cir- 
cumstance which warned us to additional carefulness. 

Notwithstanding our precautions, we narrowly es- 
caped running upon a sunken reef which lies off the 
Horse's Head, and is not laid down on the chart. We 
came also among some ice-fields, the first that we had 
yet encountered. The waves were rolling in threat- 
eningly from the southwest, and the ice, tossing madly 
upon them, gave us an uncomfortable sense of insecu- 
rity ; but we escaped into clear water after receiving 
a few thumps which did no material damage to our 
solid bows. 

By eight o'clock in the morning we had Wilcox 
Point clearly in view, and the Devil's Thumb loomed 
above a light cloud which floated along its base. Be- 
fore us lay Melville Bay. Climbing to the fore-yard, 
I swept the horizon with my glass ; — there was no 
ice in sight except here and there a vagrant berg. 
To the westward an " ice-blink " showed us that the 
" pack " lay there ; but before us all was clear, — noth- 
ing in sight but the " swelling and limitless billows." 

No discovery of my life ever gave me greater grat- 
ification. The fortunes of the expedition were, at 



58 MELVILLE BAY. 

least for the present year, dependent upon an open 
season, and my most sanguine anticipations did not 
equal the apparent reality. 

In order that the reader may appreciate, in s6me 
measure, the satisfaction which I took in the prospect 
that opened before me, it is necessary that I should 
here pause to give a general description of the region 
we were about to traverse, and an exjDlanation of 
the physical conditions which made this portion of 
the Greenland waters of such conspicuous importance 
in the destinies of our voyage. 

The shores of Melville Bay, as laid down on the 
maps, appear as a simple curved line of the Greenland 
coast; but the Melville Bay of the geographer com- 
prehends much less than that of the mariner. The 
whalers have long called by that name the expansion 
of Baffin Bay which begins at the south with the 
" middle ice," and terminates at the north mth the 
"North Water." The North Water is sometimes 
reached near Cape York, in latitude 76°, but more 
frequently higher up ; and the " middle ice," which 
is more generally known as " the pack," sometimes 
stretches down to the Arctic Circle. This pack is 
made up of drifting ice-floes, varying in extent from 
feet to miles, and in thickness from inches to fathoms. 
These masses are sometimes pressed close together, 
having but little or no open space between them ; 
and sometimes they are widely separated, dejDending 
upon the conditions of the wind and tide. They are 
always more or less in motion, drifting to the north, 
south, east, or west, with the winds and currents. The 
penetration of this barrier is usually an undertaking 
of weeks or months, and is ordinarily attended with 
much risk. 



THE MIDDLE ICE. 59 

Since the days when Baffin first penetrated these 
waters, in the Discovery, a vessel of fifty-eight tons bur- 
den, (it was in the year 1616,) a fleet of whale-ships 
has annually run this gauntlet. The fleet was once 
large, numbering upwards of a hundred sail ; but of 
latter years it has been reduced to less than one tenth 
of its former magnitude. Great though the danger, it 
has always been a favorite route of the whale fishers. 
Many a stout ship has gone down with her sides mer- 
cilessly crushed in by the " thick-ribbed ice ; " but 
those vessels which escape disaster almost uniformly 
return home with holds well filled with the blubber 
and oil of unlucky whales whose evil destiny led them 
to frequent the waters about Lancaster Sound, Pond's 
Bay, and the coasts below. 

The " middle ice " is always more or less in motion, 
and is never tightly closed up, even in midwinter. 
Of this we have abundant proof in the fate of the 
Steamer Fox, which was caught towards the close of 
the autumn, and released in the spring, after a peril- 
ous winter drift, down near the Arctic Circle. 

As the summer advances, it becomes more and more 
broken up ; and, little by little, the solid land-belt, which 
is known as the "fast" or "land -ice," is encroached 
upon. Of this, however, there usually remains a nar- 
row strip up to the close of the season. To it the 
whalers cling most tenaciously, and the exploring ves- 
sels have usually followed their example, taking al- 
ways the last crack that has opened, or, as they call 
it, the " in-shore lead." They have naturally a great 
horror of being caught in the " pack." The " fast " 
gives them security if the wind brings the ice down 
upon them from the westward, for they can always 
saw a dock for their ships in the solid ice, or find a 



60 THE GREAT POLAR CURRENT. 

bight in which to moor the vessel. They have always, 
too, the advantage of being able, when the ice is loose 
and there is no wind, to tow their vessel along its 
margin with the crew, steam being rarely used by the 
whalers. 

The currents have much to do with the formation 
of this barrier. The great Polar Current coming down 
through the Spitzbergen Sea along the eastern coast 
of Greenland, laden with its heavy freight of ice, and 
bringing from the rivers of Siberia a meagre supply 
of drift-wood to the Greenlanders, sweeps around Cape 
Farewell and flows northward as far as Cape York, 
where it is deflected to the westward. Joinino- here 
the ice-encumbered current which comes from the 
Arctic Ocean through Smith, Jones, and Lancaster 
Sounds, it flows thence southward, past Labrador and 
Newfoundland, receives on its way an accession of 
strength from Hudson Strait, wedges itself in between 
the Gulf Stream and the shore, gives cool, refreshing 
waters to the bathers of Newport and Long Branch, 
and is finally lost off* the Capes of Florida. 

Now it will readily be seen, by the most casual 
glance at any map of Baffin Bay, that this movement 
of the current forms, where the middle ice is found, a 
sort of slow-moving whirlpool, and this it is which 
locks up the ice and prevents its more rapid move- 
ment southward. It will also be readily understood 
that, by the end of August, the pack has been very 
materially shorn of its dimensions. The sun above 
and the waters beneath have both eaten it away, until 
much of it has disappeared altogether, and all of it 
has become more or less rotten. The month of Au- 
gust is necessarily the most favorable period of the 
year for the navigation of this sea, so far as concerns 



A s:n'ow-storm. 61 

the ice ; but the winter is then near at hand, and pre- 
sents a serious source of danger • for if the ice once 
closes around you, the first fall of temperature may 
glue you fast for the next ten months to come. The 
whalers usually take the pack in May or June, and 
even sometimes earlier, when the ice is hard and is 
just beginning to break up. 

When we entered Melville Bay there were but 
eight days remaining to us of the month of August. 
I had to regret the loss of time at the settlements ; 
but this was unavoidable. Before leaving Upernavik I 
had resolved upon the course which I would pursue, — 
to take the pack whenever we should find it, enter it 
at the most favorable opening, and, without looking 
for the land ice, to make the most direct line for Cape 
York. It was much in our favor that the wind had 
prevailed for many days from the eastward, and had 
apparently pushed the whole pack over toward the 
American side, opening for us a clear, broad expanse 
of water. Would it so remain, and give us a free 
passage to Cape York ? I have already said that 
I saw its reflection over the clouds, — the " ice-blink " 
to the westward. It was not far away. Would it 
remain so ? 

While reflecting upon the chances ahead the wind 
rose, and blew half a gale. A heavy sea was getting 
up behind us. A dark cloud, which had hung upon 
the southern horizon for some time, came climbing up 
the sky, and at length spreading itself out in flying 
fragments, it shook over us a shower of frozen vapor, 
and then settled into a regular snow storm. Unable 
to see fifty yards on either side, I came down from my 
uncomfortable perch on the fore-yard. 

It became now a subject for serious consideration 



62 AN ANXIOUS NIGHT. 

whether we should continue on in our course, or heave 
to and wait for better weather. In either case we 
were exposed to much risk. By heaving to, the ves- 
sel would not be under command ; and, drifting 
through the gloom, we stood a fair chance of settling 
upon a stray berg or upon the ice-fields which we had 
every reason to suppose would, sooner or later, ob- 
struct our progress ; besides, and it was not an unim- 
portant consideration, we lost a fine wind. On the 
other hand, by holding on, although we had the ves- 
sel under control, there was an even chance that, in 
the event of ice lying in our course, we would not be 
able to see it through the thick atmosphere in time to 
avoid it. The question was, however, quickly decided. 
Preferring that danger which had some energy in it, 
I reefed every thing down, pointed the schooner's 
head for Cape York, and went at it. 

I paced the deck in much anxiety of mind. We 
were traversing a sea which no keel had ever plowed 
before without meeting ice, and why should better for- 
tune be in store for our little craft. The air was so 
thick that I could sometimes barely see the lookout 
on the forecastle ; then again it would lighten up, and, 
underneath the broad canopy of dark vapors, which 
seemed to be supported by the icebergs that here and 
there appeared, I could see a distance of several miles. 
Then again the air became thick with the falling snow 
and rattling hail ; the wind whistled through the rig- 
ging, and all the while the heavy waves were rolling 
up behind us, deluging the decks, and threatening to 
swallow us up. I shall not soon forget our first ten 
hours in Melville Bay. 

At length, after a few hours of this wild running, 
my ear, which was keenly alive to every impression, 



ENCOUNTER WITH AN ICEBERG. 63 

caught the sound of breakers. The lookout gave the 
alarm a moment afterward. 

"Where away?" 

" I can't make out, sir." 

The sound came from an object which was evidently 
near at hand, but no one could tell where. A few mo- 
ments more, and the loom of an iceberg appeared in 
our course. There was no time for reflection, and it 
was too late for action. To haul the schooner by the 
wind was to insure our plunging broadside upon it ; 
and so indistinct was the object that we knew not 
which way to steer. We could not see either end of 
it or its top, — nothing but a white shimmer and a 
line of angry surf 

I have always found inaction to be a safe course 
when one does not know what to do : and in the pres- 
ent case that course saved us. Had I obeyed my first 
impulse, and put the helm up, we should have gone 
straight to ruin ; as it was, we slipped past the ugly 
monster, barely escaping a collision which, had it oc- 
curred, would have been instantly fatal to the vessel, 
and of course to every one on board. The fore-yard 
actually grazed its side, and the surf was thrown back 
upon us from the white wall. In a few moments the 
berg was swallowed up in the gloom from which it 
had so suddenly emerged. 

"A close shave, that ! " said cool-headed Dodge. 

"Ver — very close,'.' answered Starr, much as if 
he had just received the first shock of a shower- 
bath. 

The old cook was called out of his galley to lend a 
hand, and in the midst of the excitement he was heard 
to growl out, " I don't see how I 's to get de gentle- 
mens' dinner ready if I 's to be called out of my galley 



64 CAPE YORK IN SIGHT. 

in dis way to pull and haul on de ropes." He did not 
seem to have a thought that there was, a moment 
before, very little expectation on the part of "de 
gentlemens " that any of them would have further 
occasion for his services. 

This adventure inspired the crew with greater 
confidence. I suppose they thought that, as two 
cannon-balls never strike in the same spot, another 
iceberg would not very likely lay in our course ; and 
so it fell out. The cry of " breakers " was often heard 
from the forecastle-deck, but in the end the sound 
proved to come from off the bow, and we passed on 
unharmed. 

At length the wind blew itself out, the snow ceased 
falling, the clouds broke, the sun shone out brightly, 
and we lay becalmed not far from the centre of Mel- 
ville Bay. The snow and ice were shovelled from the 
deck and beaten from the riofoing;. I went aloft again 
with my glass. There were no ice-fields in sight, but 
the reflection of them was still visible in the sky to 
the westward. 

The sea was dotted over wdth icebergs, and it 
seemed wonderful that we should have passed safely 
between them. One near by particulary excited my 
admiration. It was a perfect " triumphal arch," 
through which the schooner might have passed with 
perfect ease. 

The schooner lav motionless durins: the nio;ht, but 
early in the morning a fair wind sent us again upon our 
course, and this wind held steadily through the day. 
Icebergs rose before us and set behind us in solemn 
procession. My journal designates them as " mile- 
stones of the ocean." The lofty, snow-crowned high- 
lands behind Cape York rose at length above the 



IN THE NORTH WATER. 65 

horizon, and the bold, dark- sided cape itself was, after 
a while, seen " advancing in the bosom of the sea." 

We did not meet any field-ice until near noon of 
the 25th. I had been- aloft in anxious watching dur- 
ing almost all of the whole preceding day and night; 
but when I had made up my mind that we should 
clear Melville Bay without a single brush with the 
enemy, a line of whiteness revealed itself in the dis- 
tance. We were not long in reaching it, and, select- 
ing the most conspicuous opening, forced our way 
through. It proved to be only a loose " pack " about 
fifteen miles wide, and, under a full pressure of can- 
vas, we experienced little difficulty in " boring " it. 

And now we were in the "North Water." We had 
passed Melville Bay in fiffcy-five hours. 

Standing close in under Cape York, I kept a careful 
lookout for natives. The readers of the narrative of 
Dr. Kane may remember that that navigator took 
with him from one of the southern settlements of 
Greenland a native hunter, who, after" adhering to the 
fortunes of the expedition through nearly two years, 
abandoned it, (as reported,) for a native bride, to live 
with the wild Esquimaux who inhabit the shores of 
the headwaters of Baffin Bay. This boy was named 
Hans. Anticipating that, growing tired of his self- 
imposed banishment, he would take up his residence 
at Cape York, with the hope of being picked up by 
some friendly ship, I ran in to seek him. Passing 
along the coast at rifle-shot I soon discovered a group 
of human beinars makino; sig-ns to attract attention. 
Heaving the vessel to, I went ashore in a boat, and 
there, sure enough, was the object of my search. He 
quickly recognized Sonntag and myself, and called us 
by name. 

5 



66 Al^" ESQUIMAU FAMILY. 

Six years' exj)erience among the wild men of this 
barren coast had brought him to their level of filthy 
ugliness. His companions were his wife, who carried 
her first-born in a hood upon her back ; her brother, a 
bright-eyed boy of twelve years, and "an ancient 
dame with voluble and flippant tongue," her mother. 
They were all dressed in skins, and, being the first 
Esquimaux we had seen whose habits remained wholly 
uninfluenced by contact with civilization, they were, 
naturally, objects of much interest to us all. 

Hans led us up the bill-side, over rough rocks and 
through deep snow-drifts, to his tent. It was pitched 
about two hundred feet above the level of the sea, in 
a most inconvenient position for a hunter ; but it was 
his "lookout." Wearily he had watched, year after 
year, for the hoped-for vessel ; but summer after sum- 
naer passed and the vessel came not, and he still sighed 
for his southern home and the friends of his youth. 

His tent was a sorry habitation. It was made after 
the Esquimau fashion, of seal-skins, and was barely 
large enough to hold the little family who were 
grouped about us. 

I asked Hans if he would go wdth us. 

"Yes!" 

Would he take his wife and baby. 

"Yes!" 

Would he go without them, 

"Yes!" 

Having no leisure to examine critically into the 
state of his mind, and having an impression that the 
permanent separation of husband and w^ife is regarded 
as a painful event, I gave the Esquimau mother the 
benefit of this conventional suspicion, and brought 
them both aboard, with their baby and their tent and 



RESCUE OF HANS. 



67 



all their household goods. The old woman and bright- 
eyed boy cried to be taken along ; but I had no fur- 
ther room, and we had to leave them to the care of 
the remainder of the tribe, who, about twenty in 
number, had discovered the vessel, and came shout- 
ing gleefully over the hill. After distributing to them 
some useful presents, we pushed off for the schooner. 

Hans was the only unconcerned person in the 
party. I subsequently thought that he would have 
been quite as well pleased had I left his wife and child 
to the protection of their savage kin • and had I 
known him as well then as, with good reason, I knew 
him afterward, I would not have gone out of my way 
to disturb his barbarous existence. 




CHAPTER VII. 

HANS AND HIS FA5IILY. — PETOWAK GLACIER. — A SNOW-STORM. — THE ICE- 
PACK. — ENTERING SMITH'S SOUND. — A SEVERE GALE. — COLLISION WITH 
ICEBERGS. — ENCOUNTER WITH THE ICE-FIELDS. — RETREAT FROM THE 
PACK.— AT ANCHOR IN HARTSTENE BAY. — ENTERING WINTER QUARTERS. 

It was five o'clock in the evening when I reached 
the schooner. The wind had freshened during our 
absence 5 and, unwilHng to lose so favorable an op- 
portunity for pushing on, I had hastened on board. 
Otherwise I should gladly have given some time to 
an examination of the native village which lies a few 
miles to the eastward of the cape, on the northern 
side of a conspicuous bay, near a place called Kiker- 
tait, — " The Place of Islands." 

In anticipation of a heavy blow and a dirty night, 
McCormick had, during my absence, taken a reef in 
the sails, and the little schooner, with her canvas shiv- 
ering in the wind, seemed im|)atient as a hound in the 
leash. When the helm went up, she wheeled round 
to the north with a graceful toss of her head, and, 
after steadying herself for an instant, as if for a good 
start, she shot off before the wind at ten knots an 
hour. Capes, bays, islands, glaciers, and icebergs sank 
rapidly behind us ; and, rejoicing over their extraordi- 
nary fortune, the ship's company were in the best of 
spirits. As we dashed on through nest after nest of 
icebergs, it was curious to observe the evidences of 
reckless daring which inspired their thoughts. Dodge 



A HAZARDOUS PASSAGE. 69 

had the deck, and Charley, as dare-devil an old sailor 
as ever followed the fortunes of the sea, had the helm ; 
and it seemed to me, as I sat ujDon the fore-yard, that 
there was some quiet understanding between the two 
to see how near they could come to the icebergs with- 
out hitting them. We passed through many narrow 
places ; but instead of finding the schooner in the 
middle of the channel, she generally managed to fall 
off to one side or the other at the critical moment (of 
course, by mere accident) ; and when I shouted a re- 
monstrance at the lubberly steering, I was answered 
with the assurance that the schooner would not obey 
her helm with so much after-sail on, when running be- 
fore the wind ; so I accordingly hove the schooner to, 
and close-reefed the mainsail ; and now, either from 
the want of a reasonable excuse for doing otherwise, 
or from a real difficulty being overcome, the vessel 
was made to keep somewhat nearer to a straight 
course ; and w^e dashed on through the waveless 
waters with a celerity which, in view of our surround- 
ings, fairly made one's head swim. 

I was once not a little alarmed. Before us lay what 
appeared to be two icebergs separated by a distance 
of about twenty fathoms. To go around them was to 
deviate from our course, and I called to Dodge to 
know if he could steady the schooner through the 
narrow passage. Ever ready when there was a spice 
of danger, he willingly assumed the responsibility of 
the schooner's behavior, and we ajDproached the en- 
trance ; but, when it was too late to turn either to the 
right or left, I discovered, much to my amazement, 
that the objects which I had supposed to be two bergs 
were in fact but portions of the same mass, connected 
together by a link which was only a few feet below 



70 HAN'S AND HIS FAMILY. 

the surface of the water. The depth of water proved, 
however, to be greater than at first appeared, but the 
keel actually touched twice as we shot through the 
opening ; and while the schooner was, with some hes- 
itancy and evident reluctance, doing this sledge duty, 
I must own that I wished myself anywhere else than 
on her fore-yard. 

The officers and men amused themselves with our 
new allies. Hans was delighted, and he expressed 
himself with as much enthusiasm as was consistent 
with his stolid temperament. His wife exhibited a 
mixture of bewilderment and pride ; and, apparently 
overwhelmed with the novelty of the situation in 
which she so suddenly foimd herself, seemed to have 
contracted a chronic grin ; while her baby laughed 
and crowed and cried as all other babies do. 

The sailors set to work at once with tubs of warm 
water and with soap, scissors, and comb, to prepare 
them for red shirts and other similar luxuries of civih- 
zation. At this latter they were overjoyed, and strut- 
ted about the deck with much the same air of exalted 
consequence as that of a boy who has been freshly pro- 
moted from frock and shoes to pantaloons and boots ; 
but it must be owned that the soap-and-water arrange- 
ment was not so highly appreciated ; and well they 
might object, for they were not used to it. At first 
the whole procedure seemed to be great sport, but at 
length the wife began to cry, and demanded of her 
husband to know whether this was a white man's re- 
ligious rite, with an expression of countenance which 
appeared to indicate that it was regarded by her as a 
refined method of Christian torture. The family were 
finally stowed away for the night down among the 
ropes and sails in the "ship's eyes;" and one of the 



PETOWAK GLACIER. 71 

sailors who played cliambeiiain on the occasion, and 
who appeared to be not overly partial to this increase 
of our family, remarked that, " If good for nothing 
else, they are at least good Imnber for strengthening 
the schooner's bows against the ice." 

The coast which we were passing greatly interested 
me. The trap formation of Disco Island reappears 
at Cape York, and the land presents a lofty, ragged 
front, broken by deep gorges which have a very pic- 
turesque appearance, and the effect was much height- 
ened by numerous streams of ice which burst through 
the openings. One of these figures on the chart as 
Petowak Glacier. Measuring it as we passed with 
log-line and chronometer, it proved to be four miles 
across. The igneous rocks are interrupted at Cape 
Athol, on the southern side of Wolstenholme Sound, 
and the lines of calcareous sandstone and greenstone 
which meet the eye there and at Saunders Island and 
the coast above, toward Cape Parry, brought to my 
recollection many a hard struggle of former years. 
They were familiar landmarks. 

At eight o'clock in the evening we were abreast of 
Booth Bay, the winter quarters in my boat journey 
of 1854. I could distinguish through my glass the 
rocks among which we had built our hut. They were 
suggestive of many unpleasant memories. 

Soon afterward the sky became overcast, and a 
heavy snow began to fall. The wind dying away to 
a light breeze, we jogged on through the day, and, 
passing Whale Sound, outside of Hakluyt Island, were, 
at five o'clock in the evening, within thirty miles of 
Smith's Sound. Here we came upon an ice-pack which 
appeared to be very heavy and to stretch off to the 
southwest 3 but the air being too thick to warrant us 



72 MEETING THE ICE PACK. 

in approaching near enough to inspect its character, 
we began to beat to Avindward with the hope of reach- 
ing the lee side of Northumberland Island, there to 
await better weather. In this purpose we were, how- 
ever, defeated, for, the wind falling almost to calm, we 
were forced to grope about in the gloom, seeking an 
iceberg for a mooring ; but the waves proved to be 
running too high to admit of our landing from a boat, 
and we passed the night in much uneasiness, drifting 
northward. Fortunately the pack was moving in the 
same direction, otherwise we should have been carried 
upon it. The breakers could be distinctly heard all 
the time, and on several occasions we caught sight of 
them ; but, by availing ourselves of every puff of 
wind to crawl off, we escaped without collision. Once 
I was satisfied that we had no alternative but to wear 
round and plunge head foremost into the danger, 
rather than await the apparent certainty of drifting 
broadside upon it ; but at the critical moment the 
wind freshened, and, continuing for a few hours, we 
held our own while the pack glided slowly away 
from us. 

Our dogs had made a heavy drain upon our water- 
casks, and the watch was engaged during the night in 
melting the snow which had fallen upon the deck. 
We also fished up from the sea some small fragments 
of fresh ice with a net. By these means we obtained 
a supply of water sufficient to last us for several days. 

The wind hauled to the northeast as the morning 
dawned, and the clouds broke awaj^, disclosing the 
land. Cape Alexander, whose lofty walls guard the 
entrance to Smith's Sound, appeared to be about 
twenty miles away, and Cape Isabella, thirty-five miles 
distant from it, was visible on the oj)posite side. Hold- 




fSca/r itciudcal utiles: 



ENTERING SMITH'S SOUND. 73 

ing to the eastward toward Cape Saumarez, we found 
a passage through the pack near the shore, but after- 
ward the greater part of the day was passed in a pro- 
voking cahn, during which, being embarrassed by a 
strong tidal-current that set us alternately up and 
down the coast, we were obliged almost constantly to 
use the boats to keep ourselves clear of the bergs, 
which were very numerous, and many of them of im- 
mense size. We were, however, at length gratified to 
find ourselves passing with a fair wind into Smith's 
Sound, the field of our explorations. Standing over 
toward Cape Isabella, we had for a time every pros- 
pect of good fortune before us, but a heavy pack was, 
after a while, discovered from the mast-head, and this 
we were not long in reaching. 

This pack was composed of the heaviest ice-fields 
that I had . hitherto seen, and its margin, trending 
to the northeast and southwest, arrested our further 
progress toward the western shore. Many of the 
floes were from two to ten feet above the water, thus 
indicating a thickness of from twenty to a hundred 
feet. Had they been widely separated, I should have 
attempted to force a passage ; but they were too 
closely impacted to allow of this being done with any 
chance of safety to the schooner. 

The ice appeared to be interminable. No open 
water could be discovered in the direction of Cape 
Isabella. The wind, being from the northeast, did not 
permit of an exploration in that direction • so we ran 
down to the southwest, anxiously looking for a lead, 
but without discovering any thing to give us encom^- 
agement. 

We were not, however, permitted to come to any 
conclusions of our own as to what course we should 



74 STOPPED BY THE PACK. 

pursue, for the most furious gale that it has evei 
been my fortune to encounter broke suddenly upon 
us, and left us no alternative but to seek shelter under 
the coast. Our position was now one of great danger. 
The heavy pack which we had passed the night previ- 
ous lay to leeward of us, and was even visible from 
the mast-head, thus shutting off retreat in that direc- 
tion, even should our necessities give us no choice but 
to run before the wind. 

The entries of my diary will perhaps best exhibit 
the ineffectual struggle which followed : — 

August 28th, 3 o'clock, P. M. 

Blowing frightfully. We have run in under the 
coast, and are partly sheltered by it, and trying hard 
to find an anchorage. But for the protection of the 
land we could not show a stitch of canvas. We are 
about three miles from Sutherland Island, which lies 
close to Cape Alexander, on its south side, but we 
have ceased to gain any thing upon it. We can carry 
so little sail that the schooner will not work to wind- 
ward ; besides, here under the coast, the wind comes 
only in squalls. If we can only get in between the 
island and the mainland we shall be all right. I have 
not been in bed since the day before leaving Tessuis- 
sak, and during these six days I have snatched only 
now and then a little sleep. If our anchor once gets 
a clutch on the bottom I shall make up for lost time. 

I ought to have been more cautious, and sought 
shelter sooner. A heavy white cloud hanging over 
Cape Alexander (Jensen calls it a "table-cloth") 
warned me of the approaching gale, but then I did 
not think it would come upon us wdth such fury. 

It is a perfect hurricane. My chief fear is that we 



A SEVERE GALE. 75 

will be driven out to sea, which is everywhere filled 
with heavy ice. 

August 29 th, 12 o'clock, M. 

There has been a dead calm under the coast for an 
hour. The " table-cloth " has lifted from the cape, and 
there is a decided change in the northern sky. The 
light windy clouds are disappearing, and stratus clouds 
are taking their place. The neck of the gale appears 
to be broken. 

2 o'clock, P. M. 

My calculations of the morning were quite wTong. 
The gale howls more furiously than ever. We are 
lying off Cape Saumarez, about two miles from shore. 
Failing to reach Sutherland Island, we were forced to 
run down the coast with the hope of finding shelter 
in the deep bay below ; but the wind, sweeping round 
the cape, drove us back, and we are now trying to 
crawl in shore and o-et an anchor down in a little 
cove near by, and there repair our torn sails. We 
are a very uncomfortable party. The spray flies 
over the vessel, sheathing her in ice. Long icicles 
hano; from the rio-o-ino; and the bulwarks. The bob- 
stays and other head-gear are the thickness of a man's 
body ; and, most unseamanlike procedure, we have to 
throw ashes on the deck to get about. 

I can now readily understand how Inglefield was 
forced to fly from Smith's Sound. If the gale which 
he encountered resembled this one, he could not, with 
double the steam-power of the Isabella, have made 
headway against it. Were I to leave the shelter of 
these friendly cliffs I should have to run with even 
greater celerity ; — and, very likely, to destruction. 

The squalls which strike us are perfectly terrific, 
and the calms which follow them are suggestive of 



!~'> 



76 SEEKING SHELTER. 

gathering strength for another stroke. Fortunately 
the blows are of short duration, else our already dam- 
aged canvas, which is reduced to the smallest possible 
dimensions, would fly into ribbons. 

The coast which gives us this spasmodic protection 
is bleak enough. The cliffs are about twelve hun- 
dred feet high, and their tops and the hills behind 
them are covered witli the recent snows. The wind 
blows a cloud of drift over the lofty wall, and, after 
whirling it about in the air, in a manner which, under 
other circumstances, would no doubt be pretty enough, 
drops it upon us in great showers. The winter is set- 
ting in early. At this time of the season in 1853-54 
these same hills were free from snow, and so remained 
until two weeks later. 

10 o'clock, P. M. 

We have gained nothing upon the land, and are al- 
most where we were at noon. The gale continues as 
before, and hits us now and then as hard as ever. 
The view from the deck is magnificent beyond de- 
scription. The imagination cannot conceive of a 
scene more wild. A dark cloud hangs to the north- 
ward, bringing the white slopes of Cape Alexander 
into bold relief Over the cliffs roll great sheets of 
drifting snow, and streams of it pour down every ra- 
vine and gorge. Whirlwinds shoot it up from the hill- 
tops, and spin it through the air. The streams which 
pour through the ravines resemble the sj)ray of mam- 
moth waterfalls, and here and there through the fickle 
cloud the dark rocks protrude and disappear and pro- 
trude again. A glacier which descends through a val- 
ley to the bay below is covered with a broad cloak 
of revolving whiteness. The sun is setting in a black 
and ominous horizon. But the wildest scene is upon 



A WILD SCENE. 77 

the sea. Off the cape it is one mass of foam. The 
water, carried along by the wind, flies through the air 
and breaches over the lofty icebergs. It is a most 
wonderful exhibition. I have tried in vain to illus- 
trate it with my pencil. My pen is equally powerless. 
It is impossible for me to convey to this page a pic- 
ture of that vast volume of foam which flutters over 
the sea, and, rising and falling with each pulsation of 
the inconstant wind, stands out against the dark sky^, 
or of the clouds which fly overhead, rushing, wild and 
fearful, across the heavens, on the howling storm. 
Earth and sea are charged with bellowing sounds. 
Upon the air are borne shrieks and wailings, loud and 
dismal as those of the infernal blast which, down in 
the second circle of the damned, appalled the Italian 
bard ; and the clouds of snow and vapor are tossed 
upon the angry gusts, — now up, now down, — as 
spirits, condemned of Minos, wheel their unhappy 
flight in endless squadrons, 

" Swept by the dreadful hurricane along." 

In striking contrast to the cold and confusion above 
is the warmth and quiet here below. I write in the 
officers' cabin. The stove is red-hot, the tea-kettle 
sings a homelike song. Jensen is reading. McCor- 
mick, thoroughly worn out with work and anxiety, 
sleeps soundly, and Knorr and Radcliffe keep him 
company. Dodge has the deck ; and here comes the 
cook staggering along with his pot of coffee. I w^ill 
fortify myself with a cup of it, and send Dodge below 
for a little comfort. 

The cook had no easy task in reaching the cabin 
over the slippery decks. 



78 A CABIN SCENE. 

" I falls down once, but cle Commander see I keeps 
de coffee. It 's good an' hot, and very strong, and go 
right down into de boots." 

"Bad night on deck, cook." 

" Oh, it 's awful, sar ! I never see it blow so hard 
in all my life, an' I 's followed de sea morn 'n forty 
year. And den it 's so cold. My galley is full of ice, 
and de water it freeze on my stove." 

" Here, cook, is a guernsey for you ; that will keep 
you warm." 

" Tank you, sar ! " — and he starts off with his prize ; 
but, encouraged by his reception, he stops to ask, 
" Would de Commander be so good as to tell me where 
we is ? De gentlemens fool me." 

" Certainly, cook. The land over there is Green- 
land. That big cape is Cape Alexander ; beyond that 
is Smith's Sound, and we are only about eight hun- 
dred miles from the North Pole." 

" De Nort' Pole, vere 's dat ? " 

I explained the best I could. 

" Tank you, sar. Vat for w^e come — to fish ? " 

" No, not to fish, cook ; for science." , 

"Oh, dat it? Dey tell me we come to fish. Tank 
you, sar." And he pulls his greasy cap over his bald 
head, and does not appear to be much wiser as he 
tumbles up the companion-ladder into the storm. 
Somebody has hoaxed the old man into the belief that 
we have come out to catch seals. 

August oOth, 1 o'clock, A. M. 

The wind is hauling to the eastward, and the 
squalls come thicker and faster. We are drifting both 
up and from the coast, and I fear that if we recede 
much further we shall be sent howlino- to sea under 



AT AITCHOR. 79 

bare poles. It is not a pleasing reflection — a " pack " 
and a thousand icebergs to leeward, and an unman- 
ageable vessel under foot. McCormick is struggling 
manfully for the shore. 

10 o'clock, A. M. 

We reached the shore this morning at 3 o'clock, 
and anchored in four fathoms water. The stern of the 
schooner was swuns; round and moored with our stout- 
est hawser to a rock ; but a squall fell upon us soon 
afterward with such violence that, although the sails 
were all snugly stowed, the hawser was parted like 
a whip-cord ; and we now lie to our " bower " and 
"kedge," with thirty fathoms chain. 

And now, in apparent security, the ship's company 
abandon themselves to repose. Weary and worn with 
the hard struggle and exposure, we were all badly in 
need of rest. An abundant supply of hot coffee was 
our first refreshment. But, notwithstanding their fa- 
tigue, some of the more enthusiastic members of the 
party went ashore, so anxious were they to touch this 
far-north land. 

8 o'clock, P. M. 

I have just returned from a tedious climb to the 
top of the chffs. At an elevation of twelve hundred 
feet I had a good view. The sea is free from ice 
along the shore apparently up to Littleton Island, 
from which the pack stretches out over the North 
Water as far as the eye will carry. There appears 
to be much open water about Cape Isabella, but I 
could not of course see the shore line. Above the 
cape the ice appeared to be solid. Although the pros- 
pect is discouraging, I have determined to attempt a 
passage with the first favorable wind. 

The journey was a very difficult one, and when I 



80 VIEW FKOM THE CLIFFS. 

had reached the summit of the chff I was almost 
blown over it. The force of the wind "was so great 
that I was obliged to steady myself against a rock 
while making my observations. Knorr, who accom- 
panied me, lost his cap, and it went sailing out over 
the sea as if a mere feather. The scene was but a 
broader panorama of that which I described in this 
journal yesterday. It was a grand, wdld confusion of 
the elements. The little schooner, far down beneath 
me, was writhing and reeling with the fitful gusts, 
and straining at her cables like a chained wild beast. 
The clouds of drifting snoAV which whirled through 
the gorges beneath me, now and then hid her and 
the icebergs beyond from view; and when the air fell 
calm again the cloud dropped upon the sea, and the 
schooner, after a short interval of unrest, lay quietly 
on the still water, nestling in sunshine under the pro- 
tecting cliffs. 

There are yet some lingering traces of the sum- 
mer. Some patches of green moss and grass were 
seen in the valleys, where the snow had drifted away -, 
and I plucked a little nosegay of my old friends the 
poppies and the curling spider-legged Saxifraga flage- 
laris. The frost and snow and wind had not robbed 
them of their loveliness and beauty. The cliffs are 
of the same sandstone, interstratified with green- 
stone, which I have before remarked of the coast 
below. 

McCormick has replaced the old foresail which 
was split down the centre, with the new one, and has 
patched up the mainsail and jib, both of w^hich were 
much torn. 

An immense amount of ice has drifted past us, but 
we are too far in-shore for any masses of considerable 



DRIVEIT FROM SHELTER. 81 

size to reach the vessel. Three small bergs have, 
however, grounded m a cluster right astern of us, 
and if we drag our anchors we shall bring up against 
them. A perfect avalanche of wind tumbles upon us 
from the cliffs ; and instead of coming in squalls, as 
heretofore, it is now almost constant. The tempera- 
ture is 27°. 

I made a trial to-day with the dredge, but nothing- 
was brought up from* the bottom except a couple of 
echinoderms [Asterias Groenlandica and A. Albida). The 
sea is alive mth little shrimps, among which the Cran- 
gon Boreas is most abundant. The fall-grown ones are 
ah inch long, and their tinted backs give a purplish 
hue to the water. 

Augxist 31st, 8 o'clock, P. M. 

Night closes upon a day of disaster, — a day, I 
fear, of evil omen. My poor little schooner is terri- 
bly cut up. 

Soon after making my last entry yesterday I lay 
down for a little rest, but was soon aroused with the 
unwelcome announcem.ent that we were dragging oiu" 
anchors. McCormick managed to save the bower, 
but the kedge was lost. It cauo-ht a rock at a criti- 
cal moment, and, the hawser parting, we were driven 
upon the bergs, which, as before stated, had grounded 
astern of us. The collision was a perfect crash. The 
stern boat flew into splinters, the bulwarks over the 
starboard-quarter were stove in, and, the schooner's 
head swinging round with great violence, the jib- 
boom was carried away, and the bowsprit and foretop- 
mast were both sprung. In this crippleH condition 
we at length escaped most miraculously, and under 
bare poles scudded before the wind. A vast number 
. of icebergs and the " pack " coming in view, we were 

6 



m 



82 BACK m SMITH'S SOUND. 

forced to make sail. The mainsail went to pieces as 
soon as it was set, and we were once more in great 
jeopardy ; but fortunately the storm abated, and we 
have since been threshing to windward, and are once 
more within Smith's Sound. Again the gale appears 
to have broken ; the northern sky is clear. Our spars 
will not allow us to carry jib and topsail ; — bad for 
entering the pack. 

The temperature is 22°, and the decks are again 
slippery with ice. Forward, the ropes, blocks, stays, 
halyards, and every thing else, are covered with a 
solid coating, and icicles a foot long , hang from the 
monkey-rail and rigging. If they look pretty enough 
in the sunhght, they have a very wintry aspect, and 
are not at all becoming to a ship. 

I tried this morning to reach Cape Isabella, but met 
the pack where it had obstructed us before. Some 
patches of open water were observed in the midst of 
it; but we found it impossible to penetrate the inter- 
vening ice. My only chance now is to work up the 
Greenland coast, get hold of the fast ice, and, through 
such leads as must have been opened by the wind 
higher up the Sound, endeavor to effect a passage to 
the opposite shore. Of reaching that shore I do not 
yet despair, although the wind has apparently packed 
the ice upon it to such a degree that it looks like a 
hopeless undertaking. I have already an eye upon 
Fog Inlet, twenty miles above Cape Alexander on 
the Greenland coast, and I shall now try to reach that 
point for a new start. 

While I write the wind is freshening, and under 
close-reefed sails we are making a little progress. My 
poor sailors have a sorry time of it, with the stiffened 
ropes. The schooner, everywhere above the water, is 



ENTERING THE PACK 83 

coated with ice. The dogs are perishing with cold 
and wet. Three of them have ah^eady died. 

September 1st, 8 o'clock, P. M. 

We have once more been driven out of the Sound. 
The gale set in again with great violence, and in the 
act of wearing the schooner, to avoid an iceberg, the 
fore-gaff parted in the middle ; and, unable to carry 
any thing but a close-reefed staysail, we were forced 
again to seek shelter behind our old protector, Cape 
Alexander. McCormick is patching up the wreck and 
preparing for another struggle. 

The next two davs were filled with dansrerous ad- 
venture. The broken spar being repaired, we had 
another fight for the Sound, and got again inside. The 
pack still lay where it was before, and again headed us 
off. There was a good deal of open water between 
Littleton Island and Cape Hatherton, and apparently 
to the northwest of that cape ; but there was much 
heavy ice off the island, with tortuous leads separating 
the floes, I determined, however, to enter the pack 
and try to reach the open water above. Taking the 
first fair opening, we made a northwest course for 
about ten miles, when, finding that we were unable to 
penetrate any further in that direction, we tacked 
ship, hoping to reach the clear water that lay above 
the island. 

We were now fairly in the fight. The current was 
found to be setting strongly against us, and it was soon 
discovered that the ice was coming rapidly down the 
Sound, and that the leads were already slowly closing 
up. We worked vigorously, crowding on all the sail 
we could J but we did not make our point, and soon 



^■# 



84 IN THE PACK. 

had to go about again ; or rather, we tried to ; for the 
schooner, never rehable without her topsail, which we 
could not carry owing to the accident to the topmast, 
missed in stays ; and, fearful of being nipped between 
the fields which were rapidly reducing the open water 
about us, we wore round ; and, there not being suffi- 
cient room, we were on the eve of striking with the 
starboard-bow a solid ice-field a mile in width. There 
was little hope for the schooner if this collision should 
happen with our full headway ; and being unable to 
avoid it, I thought it clearly safest to take the shock 
squarely on the fore-foot ; so I ordered the helm up, 
and went at it in true battering-ram style. To me 
the prospect was doubly disagreeable. For the greater 
facility of observation I had taken my station on the^ 
foretop-yard ; and the mast being already sprung and 
swinging with my weight, I had little other expecta- 
tion than that, when the shock came, it would snap 
off and land me with the wreck on the ice ahead. 
Luckily for me the spar held firm, but the cut-water 
flew in splinters with the collision, and the iron sheath- 
ing was torn from the bows as if it had been brown 
paper. 

And now came a series of desperate straggles. No 
topsail-schooner was ever put through such a set of 
gymnastic feats. I had been so much annoyed by the 
detentions and embarrassments of the last few days 
that I was determined to risk every thing rather than 
0^0 back. As lona; as the schooner would float I should 
hope still to get a clutch on Cape Hatherton. 

Getting clear of the floe, the schooner came again 
to the wind, and, gliding into a narrow lead, we soon 
emerged into a broad space of open water. Had this 
continued we should soon have been rewarded with 



BESET. 85 

success, but in half an hour the navigation became so 
tortuous that we were compelled again to go about 
and stand in-shore. And thus w^e continued for many- 
hours, tacking to and fro, — sometimes gaining a little, 
then losing ground by being forced to go to leeward 
of a Hoe, which we could not weather. 

The space in which we could manoeuvre the schooner 
became gradually more and more contracted ; the col- 
lisions with the ice became more frequent. We were 
losing ground. The ice was closing in with the land, 
and we were finally brought to bay. There was no 
longer a lead. And it was now too late to retreat, 
had we been even so inclined. The ice was as closely 
impacked behind us as before us. With marvelous 
celerity the scene had shifted. An hour later, and 
there was scarcely a patch of open water in sight from 
the deck, and the floes were closing upon the schooner 
like a vice. Utterly powerless within its jaws, we had 
no alternative but to await the issue with what calm- 
ness we could. 

The scene around us was as imposing as it was 
alarming. Except the earthquake and volcano, there 
is not in nature an exhibition of force comparable 
with that of the ice-fields of the Arctic Seas. They 
close together, when driven by the wind or by cur- 
rents against the land or other resisting object, with 
the pressure of millions of moving tons, and the crash 
and noise and confusion are truly terrific. 

We were now in the midst of one of the most thrill- 
ing of these exhibitions of Polar dynamics, and we be- 
came uncomfortably conscious that the schooner was to 
become a sort of dynamometer. Vast ridges were 
thrown up wherever the floes came together, to be 
submerged again when the pressure was exerted in 



86 FORCE OF THE ICE-FIELDS. 

another quarter ; and over the sea around us these 
pulsatmg hnes of upUft, which in some cases reached 
an altitude of not less than sixty feet, — higher than 
our mast-head, — told of the strength and power of 
the enemy which was threatening us. 

We had worked ourselves into a triangular space 
formed by the contact of three fields. At first there 
was plenty of room to turn round, though no chance 
to escape. We were nicely docked, and vainly hoped 
that we were safe ; but the corners of the protecting 
floes were slowly crushed off, the space narrowed little 
by little, and we listened to the crackling and crunch- 
ing of the ice, and watched its progress with conster- 
nation. 

At length the ice touched the schooner, and it ap- 
peared as if her destiny was sealed. She groaned like 
a conscious thing in pain, and writhed and twisted as 
if to escape her adversary, trembling in every timber 
from truck to kelson. Her sides seemed to be giving 
way. Her deck timbers were bowed up, and the 
seams of the deck planks w^ere opened. I gave up 
for lost the little craft v/hich had gallantly carried us 
through so many scenes of peril ; but her sides were 
solid and her ribs strong ; and the ice on the port 
side, working gradually under the bilge, at length, 
with a jerk which sent us all reeling, lifted her out of 
the water; and the floes, still pressing on and break- 
ing, as they were crowded together, a vast ridge was 
piling up beneath and around us ; and, as if with the 
elevating power of a thousand jack-screws, we found 
ourselves going slowly up into the air. 

My fear now was that the schooner would fall over 
on her side, or that the masses which rose above the 
bulwarks would topple over upon the deck, and bury 
us beneath them. 



THE SCHOONER IN DANGER. 87 

We lay in this position during eight anxious hours. 

At length the crash ceased with a change of wind 
and tide. The ice exhibited siffns of relaxino;. The 
course of the monster floes which w^ere crowdino; down 

o 

the Sound was changed more to the westward. We 
beheld the prospect of release with joy. 

Small patches of open water were here and there 
exhibited among the hitherto closely impacted ice. 
The change of scene, though less fearful, was not less 
magical than before. By and by the movement ex- 
tended to the floes which bound us so uncomfortably, 
and with the first cessation of the pressure the blocks 
of ice which supported the forward part of the schooner 
gave way, and, the bows following them, left the stern 
high in the air. Here we rested for a few moments 
quietly, and then the old scene was renewed. The 
further edge of the outer floe which held us was 
caught by another moving field of greater size, when 
the jam returned, and we appeared to be in as great 
danger as before ; but this attack was of short du- 
ration. The floe revolved, and, the pressure being 
almost instantly removed, we fell into the water, reel- 
ing forward and backward and from side to side, as 
the ice, seeking its own equilibrium, settled headlong 
and in wild confusion beneath us from its forced ele- 
vation. 

Freed from this novel and alarming situation, we 
used every available means to disengage ourselves 
from the ruins of the frightful battle which we had 
encountered; and, as speedily as possible, got into a 
position of greater safety. Meanwhile an inspection 
was made to ascertain what damage had been done to 
the schooner. The hold was rapidly filling with water, 
the rudder was split, two of its pintles were broken o&, 



88 THE SCHOOI^ER CEIPPLED. 

the stern-post was started, fragments of the cut-water 
and keel were floating alongside of us in the sea, and, 
to all appearances, we were in a sinking condition. 

Our first duty was to man the pumps. 

We were many hours among the ice, tortured with 
doubt and uncertainty. We had to move with great 
caution. The crippled condition of the schooner 
warned us to use her gently. She would bear no 
more thumps. Forward we could not go, because 
of the ice ; retreat we must, for it was absolutely 
necessary that we should get to the land and jfind 
shelter somewhere. The rudder was no longer availa- 
ble, and we were obliged to steer with a long "sweep." 

The wind hauled more and more to the eastward, 
and spread the ice. Although at times closely beset 
and once severely " nipped," yet, by watching our op- 
portunity, we crept slowly out of the pack, and, after 
twenty anxious hours, got at last into comparatively 
clear water, and headed for Hartstene Bay, where we 
found an anchorage. 

The damasre to the schooner was less than we had 
feared. A more careful examination showed that no 
timbers were broken, and the seams in a measure 
closed of themselves. Once at anchor, and finding 
that we were in no danger of sinking, I allowed all 
hands to take a rest, except such as were needed at 
the pumps. They were all thoroughly worn out. 

On the following day a still further inspection of 
the vessel was made ; and, although apparently unfit 
for any more ice-encounters, she could still float with 
a little assistance from the pumps. One hour out of 
every four kept the hold clear. 

Such repairs as it was in our power to make were 
at once begun. We could do very little without 



ANOTHER TRIAL. ■ 89 

beaching the vessel, and this, in the uncertain state 
of the ice and weather, was not practicable. The rud- 
der hung by one pintle, and after being mended was 
still unreliable. 

While McCormick was making these repairs I pulled 
np to Littleton Island in a whale-boat, to see what the 
ice had been doins; in our absence. The wind was 
dead ahead, and we had a hard strug-o^le to reach our 
destination ; but, once there, I found some encourage- 
ment. There was much open water along the coast 
up to Cape Hatherton, but the pack was even more 
heavy at the west and southwest than it had been be- 
fore. To enter it would be folly, even with a fair 
wind and a sound ship. There was clearly no chance 
of getting to the west coast, except by the course 
which I had attempted with such unhappy results two 
days previous. 

We were not a little surprised to discover on Little- 
ton Island a reindeer. He was sound asleep, coiled 
up on a bed of snow. Dodge's rifle secured him for 
our larder and deprived the desolate island of its only 
inhabitant. 

During; our absence, Jensen had been out with 
Hans, and had also discovered deer. They had found 
a herd numbering something like a dozen. Two of 
them were captured, but the rest, taking alarm, es- 
caped to the mountains. 

The wind falling away to calm, we got to sea next 
day under oars, and again entered the pack. More 
ice had come down upon the island, and all our efforts 
to push up the coast were unavailing. The air had 
become alarmingly quiet, considering that the tem- 
perature was within twelve degrees of zero, and there 
was much fear that we should be frozen up at sea. 



90 EETREAT FROM THE PACK. 

A snow-storm came to add to this danger ; but still 
we kept on at the cold and risky work of " warping " 
with capstan and windlass, whale-line and hawser, 
sometimes making and sometimes losing, and often 
pretty severely nipped. 

At length we were once more completely " be- 
set." The young ice was making rapidly, and I was 
forced reluctantly to admit that the navigable season 
was over. To stay longer in the pack was now to in- 
sure of being frozen up there for the winter, and ac- 
cordingly, after having exhausted two more days of 
fruitless labor, we made what haste we could to get 
back again into clear water. This was not, however, 
an affair to be quickly accomplished. He who navi- 
gates these polar seas must learn patience. 

Our purpose was, however, in the end safely accom- 
plished, and, a breeze springing up, we put back into 
Hartstene Bay ; and, steering for a cluster of ragged- 
looking islands which lay near the coast at its head, 
we came upon a snug httle harbor behind them, and 
dropped our anchors. Next morning I had the 
schooner hauled further in-shore, and moored her to 
the rocks. 

Meanwhile the crew were working with anxious 
uncertainty ; and when I finally announced my in- 
tention to winter in that place they received the intel- 
ligence with evident satisfaction. Their exposure had 
been great, and they needed rest- but, notwithstand- 
ing this, had there been the least prospect of service- 
able result following any farther attempt to cross the 
Sound, they would, with their customary energy and 
cheerfulness, have rejoiced in continuing the struggle. 
But they saw, as their faces clearly told, even before I 
was willing to own it, that the season was over. I re- 



ENTERING WINTER HARBOR. 91 

cord it to their credit, that throughout a voyage of unu- 
sual peril and exposure they had never quailed in the 
presence of danger, and they had to a man exhibited the 
most satisfactory evidence of manly endurance. 

The reader will readily understand that to me the 
failure to cross the Sound was a serious disappoint- 
ment. Hoping, as heretofore stated, to reach the west 
coast, and there secure a harbor in some convenient 
place between latitude 79° and 80°, it was evident to 
me that in failing to do this my chances of success 
with sledges during the following spring were greatly 
jeopardized. Besides — and this to me was the most 
painful reflection — my vessel was, apparently, so badly 
injured as to be unfit for any renewal of the attempt 
the next year. 




CHAPTER VIII. 



OUR WINTER HARBOR.— PREPARING FOR WINTER. — ORGANIZATION OF DUTIES. 
— SCIENTIFIC WORK. —THE OBSERVATORY. —SCHOONER DRIVEN ASHORE.— 
THE HUNTERS. — SAWING A DOCK. —FROZEN UP. 



I NAMED our harbor Port Foulke, in honor of my 
friend, the late WilHam Parker Foulke, of Philadel- 
phia, who was one of the earliest, and continued to 
be throughout one of the most constant advocates 
of the expedition. 

It was well sheltered except from the southwest, 
toward which quarter it was quite exposed ; but, 
judging from our recent experience, we had little 
reason to fear wind from that direction ; and we were 
protected from the drift-ice by a cluster of bergs which 
lay grounded off the mouth of the harbor. 

Our position was, even for the Grreenland coast, not 
so satisfactory as I could have wished. Had I reached 
Fog Inlet we should have gained some advantages 
over our present location, and would have been in- 
deed better situated than was .Dr. Kane at Van Rens- 
selaer Harbor ; and we would then be as sure of an 
early liberation as we were likely to be at Port 
Foulke. In truth, the principal advantage which it 
possessed was that we would not be held very late the 
next summer, and there was no possible risk of my 
vessel being caught in a trap like that of the Advance. 
Besides this prospect of a speedy liberation to recom- 



OUR WINTER HARBOR. 93 

mend it, there seemed, to be a fair chance of an abun- 
dant supply of game. 

From Dr. Kane's winter quarters we were not 
very remote, the distance being about twenty miles in 
latitude, and about eighty by the coast. We were 
eight nautical miles in a northeasterly direction from 
Ca23e Alexander, and lay deep within the recesses of a 
craggy, cliff-lined bight of dark, reddish-brown sienitic 
rock, which looked gloomy enough. This bight is 
prolonged by three small islands which figure in my 
journal as '' The Youngsters," and which bear on my 
chart the names of Radcliffe, Knorr, and Starr. At 
the head of the bight there is a series of terraced 
beaches composed of loose shingle. 

The ice soon closed around us. 

My chief concern now was to prepare for the win- 
ter, in such a manner as to insure safety to the 
schooner and comfort to my party. While this was 
being done I did not, however, lose sight of the scien- 
tific labors ; but, for the time, these had to be made 
subordinate to more serious concerns. There was 
much to do, but my former experience greatly simpli- 
fied my cares. 

Mr. Sonntag, with Radcliffe, Knorr, and Starr to as- 
sist him, took general charge of such scientific work 
as we found ourselves able to manage ; and Jensen, 
with Hans and Peter, were detailed as an organized 
hunting force. Mr. Dodge, with the body of the crew, 
discharged the cargo, and, carrying it to the shore, 
swung it with a derrick up on the lower terrace, which 
was thirty feet above the tide, and there deposited it 
in a store-house made of stones and roofed with our 
old sails. This was a very laborious operation. The 
beach, was shallow, the bank sloping, and the ice not 



94 PREPARING FOR WmTER. 

being strong enough to bear a sledge, a channel had 
to be kept open for the boats between the ship and 
the shore. The duty of preparing the schooner for 
our winter home devolved upon Mr. McCormick, with 
the carpenter and such other assistance as he required. 
After the sails had been unbent, the yards sent down, 
and the topmasts housed, the upper deck was roofed 
in, — ■ making a house eight feet high at the ridge and 
six and a half at the side. A coating of tarred paper 
closed the cracks, and four windows let in the light 
while it lasted, and ventilated our quarters. Between 
decks there was much to do. The hold, after being 
floored, scrubbed, and whitewashed, was converted 
into a room for the crew ; the cook-stove was brought 
down from the galley and placed in the centre of it 
under the main hatch, in which hung our simj)le appa- 
ratus for melting water from the snow or ice. This 
was a funnel-shaped double cylinder of galvanized 
iron connecting with the stove-pipe, and was called 
the " snow melter." A constant stream poured from 
it into a large cask, and we had always a supply of 
the purest water, fully ample for every purpose. 

Into these quarters the crew moved on the first of 
October, and the out-door work of preparation being 
mainly completed, we entered then, with the cere- 
mony of a holiday dinner, upon our winter life. And 
the dinner was by no means to be despised. Our soup 
was followed by an Upernavik salmon, and the table 
groaned under a mammoth haunch of venison, which 
was flanked by a ragout of rabbit and a venison 
pasty. 

Indeed, we went into the winter with a most en- 
couraging prospect for an abundant commissariat. 
The carcasses of more than a dozen reindeer were 



OUR COMMISSARIAT. 95 

hanging in the shrouds, rabbits and foxes were sus- 
pended in clusters from the rigging, and the hearty 
appetites and vigorous digestions which a bracing air 
and hard work had given us, were not only amply pro- 
vided for in the present, but seemed likely to be sup- 
plied in the future. The hunters rarely came home 
empty-handed. Reindeer in herds of tens and fifties 
were reported upon every return of the sportsmen. 
Jensen, who had camped out several days on the 
hunting-grounds, had already cached the flesh of about 
twenty animals, besides those which had been brought 
on board. In a single hour I had killed three with 
my own hands. Both men and dogs were well pro- 
vided. The dogs, which, according to Esquimau cus- 
tom, were only fed every second day, often received 
an entire reindeer at a single meal. They were very 
ravenous, ■ and, having been much reduced by their 
hard life at sea, they caused an immense drain upon 
our resources. 

My journal mentions, with daily increasing impa- 
tience, the almost constant prevalence of strong north- 
east winds, which embarrassed us during this period ; 
but at length the wind set in from the opposite direc- 
tion, and, breaking up the young ice about us, jammed 
us upon the rocks. If there was little consolation in 
the circumstance of our situation being thus altered 
for the worse, there was at least novelty in the ca- 
price of the weather. For once, at least, the uniform 
" N. E." had been changed in the proper column of the 
log-book. It was not without difficulty that we suc- 
ceeded in relieving the schooner from the unpleasant 
predicament. 

AVhile these preparations for the winter were being 
made, I must not forget the astronomer and his little 



96 THE OBSERVATORY. 

corps. Between liim and the executive officer there 
sprung up quite a rivahy of interest. While the one 
desired a clean ship moored in safety and a well-fed 
crew, he was naturally jealous of any detail of men 
for the other ; and it must be owned that the men 
worked with much greater alacrity for the follower of 
Epicurus than the disciple of Copernicus. An appeal 
to head-quarters, however, speedily settled the ques- 
tion as to where the work was most needed ; and, by 
a judicious discrimination as to what was due to sci- 
ence and what to personal convenience, we managed, 
while the daylight lasted, to lay the. foundation of a 
very clever series of observations, while at the same 
time our comfort was secured. 

A neat little observatory was erected on the lower 
terrace, not far from the store-house, and it was 
promptly put to use ; and an accurate survey of the 
harbor and bay, with soundings, was made as soon as 
the ice was strong enough to bear our weight. The 
observatory was a frame structure eight feet square 
and seven high, covered first with canvas and then 
with snow, and was lined throughout with bear and 
reindeer skins. In it our fine pendulum apparatus 
was first mounted, and Sonntag and Eadcliffe were 
engaged for nearly a month in counting its vibrations. 
It was found to work admirably. Upon removing this 
instrument, the mas-netometer was substituted in its 
place, upon a pedestal which was not less simple than 
original. It was made of two headless kegs, placed 
end to end upon the solid rock beneath the floor, and 
the cylinder thus formed was filled with the only ma- 
terials upon which the frost had not laid hold, namely, 
beans. Water being poured over these, we had soon, 
at ten degrees below zero, a neat and perfectly solid 



SCIENTIFIC WORK. 97 

column ; and it remained serviceable throughout the 
winter, as no fire of any kind was allowed in this 
abode of science.-^ 

In order to obtain an accurate record of tempera- 
ture, we erected near the Observatory a suitable shel- 
ter for the thermometers. In this were placed a num- 
ber of instruments, mostly spirit, which were read 
hourly every seventh day, and three times daily in 
the interval.^ In addition to this, we noted the tem- 
perature every second hour with a thermometer sus- 
pended to a post on the ice. Mr. Dodge undertook 
for me a set of ice measurements, and the telescope 
was mounted alongside the vessel, in a dome made 
with blocks of ice and snow. 

But the wmd would still give us no rest, and, set- 
ting in again from a southerly direction, the ice was 
once more broken up, and we were again driven upon 
the rocks, and a second time compelled to saw a dock 
for the schooner and haul her off-shore. This opera- 
tion was both laborious and disagreeable, even more 
so than it had been on the former occasion. The ice 
was rotten, and so tangled up with the pressure that 
it was not easy to find secure footing ; and the result 
was that few of the party escaped with less than one 
good ducking. These accidents were, however, un- 

1 It is proper to mention here that the pendulum and magnetic observa- 
tions, as well indeed as all others in physical science, were, upon my return, 
sent to the Smithsonian Institution at ¥/ashington, and were placed in the 
very competent hands of Mr. Charles A. Schott, Assistant in the United 
States Coast Survey, to whom I am indebted for most able and efficient 
cooperation, in the elaboration and discussion of my materials, preparatory 
to their publication in the " Smithsonian Contributions," to which source I 
beg to refer the reader for details. 

2 These instruments were carefully compai'ed at every ten degrees of 
temperature down to — 40°, and the records were subsequently referred to 
our " standard," a fine instrument which I had from G. Tagliabue. 

7 



98 DRIVEN ASHORE BY THE ICE. 

comfortable rather than dangerous, as there was al- 
ways help at hand. 

The schooner was, for a time, in rather an alarming 
situation, and there were many doubts as to whether 
we should get her off; but not even the consciousness 
of this circumstance, nor the repeated plunges into 
the water by the giving way and tilting of the ice, 
could destroy the inexhaustible fund of good-humor 
of ttie ship's company. From this happy disposition 
I must, however, except two individuals, who were 
always apt to be possessed of a sort of ludicrous grav- 
ity when there was least occasion for it, and, as is 
usual with such persons, they were not very service- 
ably employed. One of them, wdth great seriousness 
and an immense amount of misdirected energy, com- 
menced chopping into my best nine-inch hawser, that 
was in nobody's way ; and the other, with equal so- 
lemnity, began vigorously to break up my oars in 
pushing off pieces of ice which were doing nobody 
any harm. He even tried to push the schooner off 
the rocks, alone and unaided, with the tide-pole, an in- 
strument which had cost McCormick two days to man- 
ufacture. Of course, the instrument was broken ; but 
the poor man was saved from the sailing-master's just 
indignation by following the fragments into the sea, 
where he was consoled, in the place of prompt assist- 
ance, with assurances that if he did not make haste 
the shrimps would be after him, and leave nothing of 
him but a skeleton for the Commander's collection. 
The temperature was not below zero, and no worse 
results followed our exposure than a slight pleurisy 
to the mate and a few twitches of rheumatism to the 
destroyer of my oars. 

Our efforts were, however, finally rewarded with 



FROZEN UP. 99 

success, and the schooner was once more in safety. 
The air falhng cahn, and the temperature going down 
to 10° below zero, we were now soon firmly frozen up, 
and were protected against any further accidents of 
this nature, and were rejoiced to find ourselves able 
to run over the bay in security. In anticipation of 
this event, I had set Jensen and Peter to work mak- 
ing; harness for the dosrs, and on that dav I took the 
first drive with one of my teams. The animals had 
picked up finely, and were in excellent condition, and 
I had satisfied myself both as to their qualities and 
those of their driver, Jensen. The day was indeed a 
lively one to all hands. The ice having closed up 
firmly with the land, the necessity no longer existed 
for keeping a channel open for the boats ; and the 
hunters, being able now to get ashore with ease, set 
off early in the morning, in great glee, after reindeer. 

On the day following, the hawsers by which we bad 
thus far been moored to the rocks were cut out of the 
ice and elevated on blocks of the same material. We 
also made a stairway of slabs of this same cheap Arc- 
tic alabaster, from the upper deck down to the frozen 
sea ; and, a deep snow falling soon afterward, we 
banked this up against the schooner's sides as a fur- 
ther protection against the cold. 

During the next few days the teams were employed 
in collecting the reindeer which had been cached in 
various places, and when this labor was completed our 
inventory of fresh supplies was calculated to inspire 
very agreeable sensations. 

The schooner being now snugly cradled in the ice, 
we had no longer occasion for the nautical routine, so 
I adopted a landsman's watch, with one officer and 
one sailor ; the sea day, which commences at noon, 



100 THE DAY EKDED. 

was changed to the home day, which begins at mid- 
night ; and, conscious that we had reached the divid- 
ing Hne between the summer sunUght and the winter 
darkness, we settled ourselves for the struggle which 
was to come, resolved to get through it with the cheer- 
fulness becoming resolute men, and to make ourselves 
as comfortable as possible. And the personal charac- 
teristics of my associates augured well for the future. 
While there was sufficient variety of disposition to 
insure a continuance of some novelty in our social in- 
tercourse, there was enough esimt to satisfy me as to 
the continuance of harmony in the performance of 
individual duty. 

The sun sank out of sight behind the southern hills 
on the 15th of October, not to be seen again for four 
long months. The circumstance furnished the subject 
of our conversation in the evening, and I could easily 
read on the faces of my companions that their thoughts 
followed him as he wandered south ; and a shade of 
sadness fell for a moment over the table about which 
we were grouped. We had all been so intent upon 
our cares and duties, during the past five weeks, that 
we had scarcely noticed the decline of day. It had 
vanished slowly and as if by stealth ; and the gloom 
of night following its lengthening shadow made us 
feel now, for the first time, how truly alone we were 
in the Arctic desert. 




CHAPTER IX. 

SUNSET.— WINTER WORK. — MY DOG-TEAMS.— " MY BKOTHER JOHN'S GLACIER." 

— HUNTING. — PEAT BEDS. — ESQUIMAU GRAVES. — PUTREFACTION AT LOW 
TEMPERATURES. — SONNTAG CLIMBS THE GLACIER. — HANS AND PETER. — 
MY ESQUIMAU PEOPLE. — THE ESQUBIAU DOG. —SURVEYING THE GLACIER. 

— THE SAILING-MASTER. — HIS BIRTHDAY DINNER. 

My diary thus records the advent of whiter : — 

October 16th. 

The fair-haired god of hght reposes beneath the 
Southern Cross. His pathwajj is no longer above the 
silent hills ; but his golden locks stream over the 
mountains, and day lingers as a lover departing from 
the abode of his mistress. The cold-faced regent of 
the darkness treads her majestic circle through the 
solemn night ; and the softreyed stars pale at her ap- 
proach. Her silver tresses sweep the^sea, and the 
wild waves are stilled like a laughing face touched 
by the Jiand of death. 

Although winter and darkness are slowly settling 
over us, yet we have still nine hours of twilight daily, 
wherein to perform our out-door duties. I have com- 
pleted my arrangements for the health and comfort of 
my little household, and have perfected my system of 
domestic discipline and economy, and I feel sure that 
the wheels of the little world which revolves around 
this ice-locked schooner will now move on smoothly. 
This done, I am at liberty to seek greater freedom of 
action than I have hitherto enjoyed. I have desired to 



102 MY DOG-TEAMS. 

make some short journeys of exploration while the 
scrap of twilight yet remains to me, and as soon as the 
men were free I set them to work preparing some 
conveniences for camping out, I have been ready for 
several days, but the weather has been unfavorable for 
any thing more than a few hours' absence ; .and so our 
life runs on smoothly into the night. 

I had to-day a most exhilarating ride, and a very 
satisfactory day's w^ork. I drove up the Fiord in the 
mornino", and have returned onlv a short time since. 
This Fiord lies directly north of the harbor, and it 
forms the termination of Hartstene Bay. It is about 
six miles deep by from two to four wide. Jensen was 
my driver, and I have a superb turn-out, — -twelve 
dogs and a fine sledge. The animals are in most 
excellent condition, — every one of them strong and 
healthy ; and they are very fleet. They whirl my 
Greenland sledge over the ice with a celerity not cal- 
culated for weak nerves. I have actually ridden be- 
hind them over six measured miles in twenty-eight 
minutes ; and, without stopping to blow the team, 
have returned over the track in thirty-three. Sonn- 
tag and 1 had a race, and I beat him by four minutes. 
I should like to have some of my friends of Saratoga 
and Point Breeze up here, to show them a new style 
of speeding animals. Our racers do not require any 
blanketing after the heats, nor sponging either. We 
harness them each with a single trace, and these traces 
are of a length to suit the fancy of the driver — the 
longer the better, for they are then not so easily tan- 
gled, the draft of the outside dogs is more direct, and, 
if the team comes upon thin ice, and breaks through, 
your chances of escape from immersion are in propor- 
tion to their distance from you. The traces are all of 



MY DOG-TEAMS. 103 

the same length, and hence the dogs run side by side, 
and, when properly harnessed, their heads are in a 
line. My traces are so measured that the shoulders 
of the dogs are just twenty feet from the forward 
part of the runners. 

The team is guided solely by the whip and voice. 
The strongest dogs are placed on the outside, and the 
whole team is swayed to right and left according as 
the whip falls on the snow to the one side or the other, 
or as it touches the leading dogs, as it is sure to do if 
they do not obey the gentle hint with sufiicient alacrity. 
The voice aids the whip, but in all emergencies the whip 
is the only real reliance. Your control over the team 
is exactly in proportion to your skill in the use of it. 
The lash is about four feet longer than the traces, and 
is tipped with a " cracker " of hard sinew, with which 
a skilful driver can draw blood if so inclined ; and he 
can touch either one of his animals on any particular 
spot that may suit his purpose. Jensen had to-day a 
young refractory dog in the team, and, having had his 
patience quite exhausted, he resolved upon extreme 
measures. "You see dat beast?" said he. "I takes 
a piece out of his ear ; " — and sure enough, crack 
went the whip, the hard sinew wound round the tip 
of the ear and snipped it off as nicely as with a knife. 

This long lash, which is but a thin tapering strip of 
raw seal-hide, is swung with a whip-stock only two 
and a half feet long. It is very light and is conse- 
quently hard to handle. The peculiar turn of the 
wrist necessary to get it rolled out to its destination 
is a most difficult undertaking. It requires long and 
patient practice. I have persevered, and my perse- 
verance has been rewarded ; and if I am obliged to 
turn driver on emergency, I feel equal to the task ; 



104 MY DOG-TEAMS. 

but I fervently hope that the emergency may nob 
arise which requires me to exhibit my skill. 

It is' the very hardest kind of hard work. That 
merciless lash must be going continually ; and it must 
be merciless or it is of no avail. The dogs are quick 
to detect the least weakness of the driver, and meas- 
ure him on the instant. If not thoroughly convinced 
that the soundness of their skins is quite at his 
mercy, they go where they please. If they see a 
fox crossing the ice, or come upon a bear track, or 
" wind " a seal, or sight a bird, away they dash over 
snow-drifts and hummocks, pricking up their short 
ears and curling up their long bushy tails for a wild, 
wolfish race after the game. If the whip-lash goes 
out with a fierce snap, the ears and the tails drop, 
and they go on about their proper business ; but woe 
be unto you if they get the control. I have seen my 
own driver only to-day sorely put to his metal, and 
not until he had brought a yell of pain from almost 
every dog in the team did he conquer their obstinacy. 
They were running after a fox, and were taking us 
toward what appeared to be unsafe ice. The wind 
was blowing hard, and the lash was sometimes driven 
back into the driver's face, — hence the difficulty. 
The whip, however, finally brought them to reason, 
and in full view of the game, and within a few yards 
of the treacherous ice, they came first down into a 
limping trot and then stopped, most unwillingly. Of 
course this made them very cross, and a general fight 
— fierce and angry — now followed, which was not 
quieted until the driver had sailed in among them and 
knocked them to right and left with his hard hickory 
whip-stock. I have had an adventure with the same 
feeam, and know to my cost what an unruly set they 



u \\\u\u \\\\\i\\\\\\i» iwmmnii \\\ \ i»~.. 



i ■'!'*' 



,1 1 




MY DOG-TEAMS. 105 

are, and how hard it is to get the mastery of them ; 
but once mastered, hke a spirited horse, they are obe- 
dient enough ; but also, hke that noble animal, they 
require now and then to have a very positive reminder 
as to whom the obedience is owing. 

Wishing to try my hand, I set out to take a turn 
round the harbor. The wind was blowing at my back, 
and when I had gone far enough, and wanted to wheel 
round and return, the dogs were not so minded. 
There is nothing they dislike so much as to face the 
wind ; and, feeling very fresh, they were evidently 
ready for some sport. Moreover, they may, perhaps, 
have wanted to see what manner of man this new 
driver was. They were very familiar with him per- 
sonally, for he had petted them often enough ; but 
they had not before felt the strength of his arm. 

After much difficulty I brought them at last up to 
the course, but I could keep them there only by con- 
stant use of the lash ; and since this was three times 
out of four blown back into my face, it was evident 
that I could not long hold out ; besides, my face was 
freezing in the wind. My arm, not used to such vio- 
lent exercise, soon fell almost paralyzed, and the whip- 
lash trailed behind me on the snow. The doars were 

o 

not slow to discover that something was wrong. They 
looked back over their shoulders inquiringly, and, dis- 
covering that the lash was not coming, they ventured 
to diverge gently to the right. Finding the effort 
not resisted, they gained courage and increased their 
speed ; and at length they wheeled short round, 
turned their tails to the wind, and dashed off on their 
own course, as happy as a parcel of boys freed from 
the restraints of the school-room, and with the wild 
rush of a dozen wolves. And how they danced along 



106 ALIDA LAKE. 

and barked and rejoiced in their short-lived lib- 
erty! 

If the reader has ever chanced to drive a pair of 
unruly horses for a few hours, and has had occasion 
to find rest for his aching arms on a long, steep hill, he 
will understand the satisfaction which I took in find- 
ing the power returning to mine. I could again use 
the whip, and managed to turn the intractable team 
among a cluster of hummocks and snow-drifts, which 
somewhat impeded their progress. Springing sud- 
denly off, I caught the upstander and cajDsized the 
sledge. The points of the runners were driven deeply 
into the snow, and my runaways were anchored. A 
vigorous application of my sinew-tipped lash soon con- 
vinced them of the advantages of obedience, and when 
I turned up the sledge and gave them the signal to 
start they trotted off in the meekest manner possible, 
facing the wind without rebelling, and giving me no 
further trouble. I think they will remember the les- 
son — and so shall I. 

But I set out to record my journey up the Fiord. 
Reaching the head of it after a most exhilarating ride, 
we managed, with some difficulty, to cross the tide- 
cracks, and scrambled over the ice-foot to the land. 
Here we came upon a broad and picturesque valley, 
bounded on either side by lofty cliffs — at its further 
end lay a glacier, with a pool of water a mile long 
occupying the middle distance. This pool is fed from 
the glacier and the hill-sides, down which pour the 
waters of the melting snows of summer. The dis- 
charge from it into the sea is made through a rugged 
gorge which bears evidence of being filled with a 
gushing stream in the thaw season. Its banks are 
lined in places with beds of turf, (dried and hardened 



MY BROTHER JOHN'S GLACIER. 107 

layers of moss,) a sort of peat, with which we can 
readily eke out our supply of fuel. A specimen of it 
brought on board burns quite freely with the addition 
of a little grease. This pool of water, in accordance 
with Sonntag's wish, bears the name of Alida Lake. 

The valley, which I have named "Chester," in re- 
membrance of a spot which I hope to see again, is two 
miles long by one broad, and is covered in many places, 
especially along the borders of the lake, with a fine 
sod of grass, from which the wind has driven the snow 
and made the locality tempting to the deer. Several 
herds, amounting in the aggregate to something like 
a hundred animals, were browsing upon the dead grass 
of the late summer ; and, forgetting for the time the 
object of my journey, I could not resist the tempta- 
tion to try my rifle upon them. I was rewarded with 
two large fat bucks, while Jensen secured an equal 
number. 

The glacier was discovered by Dr. Kane in 1855, 
and, being subsequently visited by his brother, who 
was an assistant surgeon in the United States Expedi- 
tion of Search under Captain Hartstene in 1855, was 
named by the former, " My Brother John's Glacier." 
It has been christened a shorter name by the crew, 
and is known as " Brother John." It has frequently 
been seen from the hill-tops and bay by all of us, but 
not visited until to-day. We reached home in time 
for dinner, weary enough and very cold, for the tem- 
perature was several degrees below zero, and the wind 
was blowing sharply. 

During my absence McCormick has employed the 
crew in securing the boats, one of which was blown 
ashore and its side stove in by the violence of the 
gale, and in sawing out and unshipping the rudder. 



108 A SURVEYOR'S CHAIN. 

Hans and Peter have been setting fox-traps and shoot- 
ing rabbits. The foxes, both the white and blue vari- 
eties, appear to be quite numerous, and there are also 
many rabbits, or rather I should say hares. These 
latter are covered with a long heavy pelt which is a 
pure white, and are very large. One caught to-day 
weighed eight pounds. 

October 17tli. 

McCormick, who is general tinker and the very em- 
bodiment of ingenuity, has been making for me a sur- 
veyor's chain out of some iron rods ; and a party, con- 
sisting of Sonntag, McCormick, Dodge, EadclifPe, and 
Starr, have been surveying the bay and harbor with 
this chain and the theodolite. They seem to have 
made quite a frolic of it, which, considering the de- 
pressed state of the thermometer, is, I think, a very 
commendable circumstance. Barnum and McDonald 
have been given a holiday, and they went out with 
shot-guns after reindeer. They report having seen 
forty-six, all of which they succeeded in badly fright- 
ening, and they also started many foxes. Charley 
also had a holiday, but, disdaining the huntsman's 
weapons, he started on a " voyage of discovery," as he 
styled it. Strolling down into the bay above Crystal 
Palace Cliffs,^ he came upon an old Esquimau settle- 
ment, and, finding a grave, robbed it of its bony con- 
tents, and brought them to me wrapped up in his coat. 
It makes a very valuable addition to my ethnological 
collection, and a glass of grog and the promise of 
other holidays have secured the cooperation of Char- 
ley in this branch of science. Charley, by the way, 
is one of my most reliable men, and gives promise of 

1 Discovei-ed and so named by Captain Inglefield, R. N., in August, 
1852. 



ESQUIMAU GRAVES. 109 

great usefulness. Indeed, everybody in the vessel 
seems desirous of adding to my collections ; but this 
zeal has to-day led me into a rather unpleasant embar- 
rassment. Jensen, whose long residence among the 
Esquimaux of Southern Greenland has brought him 
to look upon that people as little better than the dogs 
which drag their sledges, discovered a couple of graves 
and brought away the two skin-robed mummies which 
they enclosed, thinking they would make fine museum 
specimens ; and in this surmise he was quite right ; 
but, unfortunately for the museum, Mrs. Hans was 
prowling about when Jensen arrived on board, and, 
recognizing one of them by some article of its fur 
clothing as a relative, she made a terrible ado, and 
could not be quieted even by Jensen's assurance that 
I was a magician, and would restore them to life when 
in my own country ; so, when I learned the circum- 
stances, I thought it right, in respect to humanity if 
not to science, to restore them to their stony graves, 
and had it done accordingly. 

The Esquimau graves appear to be numerous about 
the harbor, giving evidence of quite an extensive setr 
tlement at no very remote period. These graves 
are merely piles of stones arranged without respect 
to direction, and in the size of the pile and its loca- 
tion nothing has been consulted but the convenience 
of the living. The bodies are sometimes barely hid- 
den. Tombs of the dead, they are, too, the mourn- 
ful evidences of a fast dwindling race. 

October 18th. 

I have been well repaid for my course in re-interring 
the mummies ; for I have won the gratitude of my 
Esquimau people, and Hans has brought me in their 



110 PUTREFACTION AT LOW TEMPERATURES. 

places two tyj^ical skulls which he found tossed among 
the rocks. The little shrimps are also doing me good 
service. They have prepared for me several skeletons 
of all varieties of the animals which we have captured. 
I first have the bulk of the flesh removed from the 
bones, then, placing them in a net, they are lowered 
into the fire-hole, and these lively little scavengers of 
the sea immediately light within the net, in immense 
swarms, and in a day or so I have a skeleton more 
nicely cleaned than could be done by the most skiUful 
of human workmen. 

A party brought in to-day the carcass of a reindeer 
which I mortally wounded yesterday, but was too 
much fatigued to follow. They found its tracks, and, 
after pursuing them for about a mile, they came upon 
the animal lying in the snow, dead. It is now discov- 
ered that putrefaction has rendered it unfit for use, a 
circumstance which seems very singular with the tem- 
perature at ten degrees below zero. A similar case is 
mentioned by Dr. Kane as having occurred within his 
own observation, and Jensen tells me that it is well 
known that such an event is not uncommon at Uper- 
navik. Indeed, when the Greenlanders capture a deer 
they immediately eviscerate it. Puzzling as the phe- 
nomenon appears at first sight, it seems to me, how- 
ever, that it admits of ready explanation. The dead 
animal is immediately frozen on the outside ; and 
there being thus formed a layer of non-conducting 
ice, as well as the pores being closed, the warmth of 
the stomach is retained long enough for decomposition 
to take place, and to generate gas which permeates 
the tissues, and renders the flesh unfit for food ; and 
this view of the case would seem to be confirmed by 
the fact that decomposition occurs more readily in 



SONKTAG CLIMBS THE GLACIER. HI 

the cold weather of midwinter than in the warmer 
weather of midsummer. 

October 19 th. 

A hvely party visited Chester Valley to-day. They 
started early with two sledges — Sonntag, with Jen- 
sen on one, Knorr and Hans on the other. Sonntag 
carried out the theodolite and chain to make a survey 
of the glacier. The others, of course, took their rifles. 
They saw numerous reindeer, but shot only three. 
One of these was a trophy of Mr. Knorr's, and had 
like to have cost him dearly. The poor animal had 
been badly wounded in the valley, and on three legs 
tried to climb the steep hill. Knorr, following it, 
reached at length within twenty yards, and brought it 
down with a well-directed shot ; but the hunter and 
the victim being, unfortunately for the former, in a 
line, the hunter was carried off his legs, and the two 
together went tumbling over the rocks in a manner 
which, to those below, looked rather alarming. Re- 
port does not say how the boy extricated himself It 
is lucky, however, that, instead of broken bones, he 
has only a few bruises to show for his adventure. 

Sonntag, too, had his story to tell. Reaching the 
glacier, he ascended to its surface, after travelling two 
miles along the gorge made by the glacier on the one 
side and the sloping mountain on the other. The 
ascent was made by means of steps cut with a hatchet 
in the solid ice. The glacier was found to be crossed 
in places by deep narrow fissures, budged with a crust 
of snow, and so completely covered as to defy detec- 
tion. Into one of these, fortunately a very narrow 
one, the astronomer was precipitated by the giving 
way of the bridge, and it is probable that he would 
have lost his life but for a barometer which he carried 



112 SEAL-HUNTING. — ESQUIMAU VILLAGE. 

in his hand, and which, crossing the crack, broke the 
fall. The barometer was my best one, and is of course 
a hopeless wreck. 

Carl and Christian, my two Danish recruits from 
Upernavik, have been setting nets for seal. These 
nets are made in the Greenland fashion, of seal-skin 
thongs, with large meshes. They are kept in a verti- 
cal position under the ice by stones attached to their 
lower margin ; and the unsuspecting seal, swimming 
along in pursuit of a school of shrimps for a meal, or 
seeking a crack or hole in the ice to catch a breath of 
air, strikes it and becomes entangled in it, and is soon 
drowned. Most of the winter seal-fishing of Green- 
land is done in this manner ; and it is in this that the 
dogs are most serviceable, in carrying the hunter rap- 
idly from place to place in his inspection of the nets, 
and in taking home the captured animals upon the 
sledge. This species of hunting is attended \vith 
much risk, as the hunter is obliged to run out on the 
newly-formed ice. Jensen has enlivened many of my 
evenings with descriptions of his adventures wpon the 
ice-fields while looking after his nets. On one occa- 
sion the ice broke up, and he was set adrift, and would 
have been lost had not his crystal raft caught on a 
small island, to which he escaped, and where he was 
forced to remain without shelter until the frost built 
for him a bridge to the main land. The hardihood and 
courage of these Greenland hunters is astonishing. 

Although the wind has been blowing hard, I have 
strolled over to the north side of the Fiord on a visit 
to the Esquimau village of Etah, which is about four 
miles away in a northeasterly direction. The hut 
there, as I had already surmised, was uninhabited, but 
bore evidence of having been abandoned only a short 



HANS AND PETER. 113 

time previous. This is the first time that I have seen 
the place since the night I passed there in December, 
1854, — a night long to be remembered. 

Near by the hut I discovered a splendid buck leis- 
urely pawing away the snow and turning up the dried 
grass and moss, of which he was making a well-earned 
if not inviting meal. Approaching him on the leeward 
side, I had no difficulty in coming within easy range ; 
but I felt reluctant to fire upon him. He was so in- 
tent upon his work, and seemed so little to suspect 
that these solitudes, through which he had so long 
roamed unmolested, contained an enemy, that I almost 
relented ; and I did not pull trigger until I had aimed 
a third time. But, notwithstanding this irresolution, 
his splendid haunch now hangs in the rigging, and is 
set apart for some future feast ; and I have no doubt 
that I shall then eat my share of him without once 
thinking that I had done a deed of cruelty. 

October 20th. 

I have observed for some days past decided symp- 
toms of a rivalry existing between my two Esquimau 
hunters, Hans and Peter, both of whom are very ser- 
viceable to me. Peter is a very clever little fellow, 
and withal honest ; and he has quite taken my fancy. 
He is a thorough-bred Esquimau, with very dark com- 
plexion, jet-black hair, which he cuts in native fashion, 
square across his forehead ; but he keejDS himself clean 
and neat, and is on all occasions very well behaved. 
Not only is he a fine hunter, but he possesses great 
ingenuity, and has wonderful skill with liis fingers. I 
have before me several specimens of his handiwork 
in the shape of salt-spoons, paper-cutters, and other 
little trinkets which, with an old file, a knife, and a 

8 



114 MY ESQUIMAU PEOPLE. 

piece of sand-paper, he has carved for me out of a wal- 
rus tusk. They are cut with great accuracy and 
taste. He is always eager to serve my wishes in every 
thing ] and since I never allow zeal to go unrewarded, 
he is the richer by several red-flannel shirts, and a suit 
of pilot-cloth clothes. Of course, Hans is jealous. 
Indeed, it is impossible for me to exhibit any kindness 
of this sort to any of my Esquimau people mthout 
making Hans unhappy. He avoids showing his tem- 
per openly in my presence, but he gets sulky, and 
does not hunt, or, if ordered out, he comes home with- 
out game. He is a type of the worst phase of the 
Esquimau character. The Esquimaux are indeed a 
very strange kind of people, and are an interesting 
study, even more so than my dogs, although they are 
not so useful; and then the dog can be controlled 
with a long whip and resolution, while the human ani- 
mal cannot be controlled with any thing. They might 
very properly be called a negative people, in every 
thing except their unreliability, which is entirely pos- 
itive ; and yet among themselves they exhibit the sem- 
blance of virtuous conduct, at least in this : that while 
in sickness or want or distress they never render vol- 
untary assistance to each other, yet they do not deny 
it ; indeed, the active exhibition of service is perhaps 
wholly unknown or unthought of amongst them ; but 
they do the next best thing — they never withhold it. 
From the rude hut of the hardy inhabitant of these 
frozen deserts the unfortunate hunter who has lost his 
team and has been unsuccessfid in the hunt, the un- 
protected famil}^ who have lost their head, even the 
idle and thriftless, are never turned away ; but they 
are never invited. They may come, they may use 
what they find as if they were members of the family, 



ESQUIMAU TRAITS. 115 

taking it as a matter of course ; but if it were known 
that they were starving, at a distance, there is no one 
who w^ould ever think of going to them wdth supphes. 
They are the most self-reHant people in the world. It 
does not appear ever to occur to them to expect as- 
sistance, and they never think of offering it. 

The food and shelter which the needy are allowed 
to take is not a charity bestowed ; the aid which the 
hunter gives to the dogiess man who jumps upon his 
sledge for a lift on a journey is not a kindness. He 
would drop him or give him the slip if occasion offered, 
even if in a place from whence he could not reach his 
home. He w^ould drive off and leave him with the 
greatest unconcern, never so much as giving him a 
thought. If he should change his abode, the family 
that had sought his protection would not be invited to 
accompany him. They might come if able, he could 
not and would not drive them aw^ay ; indeed, his lan- 
guage contains no word that would suit the act ; but, 
if not able to travel, they would be left to starve with 
as much unconcern as if they were decrepit dogs 
which the hunt had rendered useless. 

They neither beg, borrow, nor steal. They do not 
make presents, and they never rob each other ; though 
this does not hold good of their disposition toward the 
white man, for from him they make it a habit to filch 
all they can. 

I cannot imagine any living thing so utterly callous 
as they. Why, even my Esquimau dogs exhibit more 
sympathetic interest in each other's welfare. They at 
least hang together for a common object ; sometimes 
fighting, it is true, but they make friends again after 
the contest is over. But these Esquimaux never fight, 
by any chance. They stealthily harpoon a trouble- 



116 ESQUIMAU TRAITS. 

some rival in the hunt, or an old decrepit man or 
woman who are a burden ; or a person who is sup- 
posed to be bewitched, or a lazy fellow who has no 
dogs, and lives off - his more industrious neighbors. 
They even destroy their own offspring when there 
hapjDen to be too many of them brought into the 
world, or one should chance to be born with some de- 
formity which will make it incapable of self-support ; 
but they never meet in open combat ; at least, such 
are the habits of the tribes who have not yet been 
reached in some degree by the influences of Christian 
civilization, or who have not had ingrafted upon them 
some of the aggressive customs of the old Norsemen, 
who, from the ninth to the fourteenth centuries, lived 
and fought in Southern Greenland. 

With such traits of character they are naturally dis- 
inclined to be amiable toward any one who is particu- 
larly fortunate, and it is not surprising, therefore, that 
Hans should be envious of Peter. Even had I given 
the latter no more clothing than was sufficient to 
cover his nakedness, it would have been all the same. 
Had I crowded upon Hans the best of every thing in 
the vessel, without respect to quantity or usefulness, 
it would not be more than he covets. But the fellow 
is especially jealous of my personal kind attentions to 
Peter, for he sees in that the guaranty of still further 
gifts. 

Hans, by the way, keeps up an establishment of 
his owm ; and, having a piece of feminine humanity, 
he can claim the dignity of systematic housekeeping. 
Within the house on the upper deck he has pitched 
his Esquimau tent, and, with his wife and baby, half 
buried in reindeer-skins, he lives the life of a true 
native. His wife bears the name of Merkut, but is 



HANS AND HIS FAMILY. 117 

better known as Mrs. Hans. She is a little chubby 
specimen of womankind, and, for an Esquimau, not 
ill-looking. In truth she is, I will not say the pret- 
tiest, but the least ugly thorough-breed that I have 
seen. Her complexion is unusually fair, so much so 
that a flush of red is visible on her cheeks when she 
can be induced to use a little soap and water to re- 
move the thick plaster of oily soot which covers it. 
This, however, rarely happens ; and as for undergoing 
another such soaking and scrubbing as the sailors 
gave her on the way up from Cape York, she cannot 
be induced to think of it. 

The baby is a lively specimen of unwashed human- 
ity. It is about ten months old, and rejoices in the 
name of Pingasuk — "The Pretty One." It appears 
to take as naturally to the cold as ducklings to water, 
and may be seen almost any day crawling through the 
open slit of the tent, and then out over the deck, quite 
innocent of clothing ; and its mother, equally regard- 
less of temperature or what, in civilized phrase and 
conventional usage we designate as modesty, does not 
hesitate to wander about in the same exposed man- 
ner. The temperature, however, of the house is never 
very low, mostly above freezing. 

My other two Esquimau hunters, Marcus and Jacob, 
are lodgers with the Hans family. They are a pair 
of droll fellows, very different from Hans and Peter. 
Marcus will not work, and Jacob has grown like the 
Prince of Denmark, "fat and scant of breath," and 
cannot. As for hunters, they are that only in name. 
They have been tried at every thing for which it 
was thought possible that they could be of any use, 
and it is now agreed on all sides that they can only 
be serviceable in amusing the crew and in cutting up 



118 MARCUS AND JACOB. 

our game ; and these things they do well and cheer- 
fully, for out of these pursuits grows an endless oppor- 
tunity to feed ; and as for feeding, I have never seen 
man nor beast that could rival them, especially Jacob. 
The stacks of meat that this boy disposes of seem 
quite fabulous ; and it matters not to him whether it 
is boiled or raw. The cook declares that " he can eat 
heself in three meals," meaning, of course, his own 
weight; but I need hardly say that this is an exag- 
geration. The steward quotes Shakespeare, and thinks 
that he has hit the boy very hard when he proclaims 
him to be a savage " of an unbounded stomach." 
The sailors tease him about his likeness to the ani- 
mals which he so ruthlessly devours. A pair of ant- 
lers are growing from his forehead, rabbit's hair is 
sprouting on his distended abdomen, and birds' feath- 
ers are appearing on his back ; his arms and legs are 
shortening into flippers, his teeth are lengthening 
into tusks, and they mean to get a cask of walrus 
blubber out of him before the spring ; all of which he 
takes good-naturedly ; but there is a roguish leer in 
his eye, and if I mistake not he will yet be even with 
his tormentors. So much for my Esquimau subjects. 

October 21st. 

I have had another lively race to the glacier, and 
have had a day of useful work. Hans drove Sonntag, 
and Jensen was, as usual, my " whip." We took Carl 
and Peter along to help us with our surveying ; and, 
although there were three persons and some instru- 
ments on each sledge, yet this did not much interfere 
with our progress. We were at the foot of the glacier 
in forty minutes. 

The dogs are getting a little toned down with use, 



HABITS OF DOGS. 119 

and I have directed that their rations shall not be 
quite as heavy as they were. They are lively enough 
still, but not so hard to keep in hand. 

My teams greatly interest me, and no proprietor of 
a stud of horses ever took greater satisfaction in the 
occupants of his stables than I do in those of my ken- 
nels. Mine, however, are not housed very grandly, 
said kennels being nothing more than certain walls 
of hard snow built up alongside the vessel, into which 
the teams, however, rarely chose to go, preferring the 
open ice-pktin, where they sleejD, wound up in a knot 
like worms in a fish-basket, and are often almost 
buried out of sight by the drifting snow. It is only 
when the temjDcrature is very low and the wind unu- 
sually fierce that they seek the protection of the 
snow-walls. 

These dogs are singular animals, and are a curious 
study. They have their leader and their sub-leaders 
— the rulers and the ruled — like any other commu- 
nity desiring good government. The governed get 
what rights they can, and the governors bully them 
continually in order that they may enjoy security 
against rebellion, and live in peace. And a commu- 
nity of dogs is really organized on the basis of correct 
principles. As an illustration, — my teams are under 
the control of a big aggressive brute, who sports a 
dirty red uniform with snufi-colored facings, and has 
sharp teeth. He possesses immense strength, and his 
every movement shows that he is perfectly conscious 
of it. In the twinkling of an eye he can trounce any 
dog in the whole herd ; and he seems to possess the 
faculty of destroying conspiracies, cabals, and all evil 
designings against his stern rule. None of the other 
dogs like him, but they cannot help themselves j they 



120 THE LEADER OF THE PACK. 

are afraid to turn against him, for when they do so 
there is no end to the chastisements which they re- 
ceive. Now Oosisoak (for that is his name) has a 
rival, a huge, burly fellow with black uniform and 
white collar. This dog is called Karsuk, which ex- 
presses the complexion of his coat. He is larger than 
Oosisoak, but not so active nor so intelligent. Occa- 
sionally he has a set-to with his master ; but he always 
comes off second best, and his unfortunate followers 
are afterwards flogged in detail by the merciless red- 
coat. The place of Oosisoak, when harnessed to the 
sledge, is on the left of the line, and that of Karsuk 
on the right. 

There is another powerful animal which we call 
Erebus, who governs Sonntag's team as Oosisoak gov- 
erns mine, and he can whip Karsuk, but he never has 
a bout with my leader except at his peril and that of 
his followers. And thus they go along, fighting to 
preserve the peace, and chawing each other up to 
maintain the balance of power ; and this is all to my 
advantage ; for if the present relations of things were 
disturbed, my community of dogs would be in a state 
of anarchy. Oosisoak would go into exile, and would 
die of laziness and a broken heart, and great and 
bloody would be the feuds between the rival interests, 
led by Karsuk and Erebus, before it was decided 
which is the better team. 

Oosisoak has other traits befitting greatness. He 
has sentiment. He has chosen one to share the glory 
of his reign, to console his sorrows, and to lick his 
wounds when fresh from the bloody field. Oosisoak 
has a queen ; and this object of his affection, this idol 
of his heart, is never absent from his side. She runs 
beside him in the team, and she fights for him harder 



THE QUEEN OF THE KENJ^EL. 121 

than any one of his male subjects. In return for this 
devotion he allows her to do pretty much as she 
pleases. She may steal the bone out of his mouth, 
and he gives it up to her with a sentimental grimace 
that is quite instructive. But it happens sometimes 
that he is himself hungry, and he trots after her, and 
when he thinks that she has got her share he growls 
significantly ; whereupon she drops the bone without 
even a murmur. If the old fellow happens to be par- 
ticularly cross when a reindeer is thrown to the pack, 
he gets upon it with his forefeet, begins to gnaw 
away at the flank, growling a wolfish growl all the 
while, and no dog dare come near until he has had 
his fill except Queen Arkadik, (for by that name is 
she known,) nor can she approach except in one direc- 
tion. She must come alongside of him, and crawl 
between his fore-legs and eat lovingly from the spot 
where he is eating. 

So much for my dogs. I shall doubtless have more 
to say about them hereafter, but there is only a small 
scrap of the evening left, and I must go back to 
"My Brother John's Glacier." 

Halting our teams near the glacier front, we pro- 
ceeded to prepare ourselves for ascending to its sur- 
face. Its face, looking down the valley, exhibits a 
somewhat convex lateral line, and is about a mile in 
extent, and a hundred feet high. It presents the 
same fractured surfaces of the iceberg, the same lines 
of vertical decay caused by the waters trickling from 
it in the summer, — the same occasional horizontal 
lines, which, though not well marked, seemed to con- 
form to the curve of the valley in which the glacier 
rests. The slope backward from this mural face is 
quite abrupt for several hundred feet, after which the 



122 CLIMBING THE GLACIER. 

ascent becomes gradual, decreasing to six degrees, 
where it finally blends with the mer de glace which 
apjDears to cover the land to the eastward. 

At the foot of the glacier front there is a pile of 
broken fragments which have been detached from 
time to time. Some of them are very large — solid 
lumps of clear crystal ice many feet in diameter. One 
such mass, with an immense shower of smaller pieces, 
cracked off while we were lookino; at it, and came 
crashing down into the plain below. 

The surface of the glacier curves gently upward 
from side to side. It does not blend with the slope 
of the mountain, but, breaking off abruptly, forms, as 
I have before observed, a deep gorge between the 
land and the ice. This gorge is interrupted in places 
by immense boulders which have fallen from the cliffs, 
or by equally large masses of ice which have broken 
from the glacier. Sometimes, however, these inter- 
ruptions are of a different character, when the ice, 
moving bodily forward, has pushed the rocks up the 
hill-side in a confused wave. 

The traveling along this winding gorge was labori- 
ous, especially as the snow-crusts sometimes gave way 
and let one's legs down between the sharp stones, or 
equally sharp ice ; but a couple of miles brought us 
to a place where we could mount by using our axe in 
cutting steps, as Sonntag had done before. 

We were now fairly on the glacier's back, and 
moved cautiously toward its centre, fearful at every 
step that a fissure might open under our feet, and let 
us down between its hard ribs. But no such accident 
happened, and we reached our destination, where the 
surface was perfectly smooth — ■ an inclined plain of 
clear, transparent ice. 



SURVEYING THE GLACIER. 123 

Our object in this journey was chiefly to determine 
whether the glacier had movement ; and for this pur- 
pose we followed the very simple and efiicient plan 
of Professor Agassiz in his Alpine surveys. First we 
placed two stakes in the axis of the glacier, and care- 
fully measured the distance between them ; then we 
planted two other stakes nearly midway between 
these and the sides of the glacier ; and then we set 
the theodolite over each of these stakes in succession, 
and connected them by angles with each other and 
with fixed objects on the mountain-side. These an- 
gles will be repeated next spring, and I shall by this 
means know whether the glacier is moving down the 
valley, and at what rate. 

On this, as on every other occasion when we have 
attempted to do any thing requiring carefulness and 
deliberation, the wand came to embarrass us. The 
temperature alone gives us little concern. Although 
it may be any number of degrees below zero, we do 
not mind it, for we have become accustomed to it ; 
but the wind is a serious inconvenience, especially 
when our occupations, as in the present instance, do 
not admit of active exercise. It is rather cold work 
handling the instrument ; but the tangent screws 
have been covered with buckskin, and we thus save 
our fingers from being " burnt," as our little freezings 
are quite significantly called. 

I purpose making a still further exploration of this 
glacier to-morrow, and will defer until then any fur- 
ther description of it. 

During my absence the hunters have not been idle. 
Barnum has killed six deer ; Jensen shot two and 
Hans nine ; but the great event has been the sailing- 
master's birthday dinner; and I returned on board 



124 ■ A SOCIAL RULE. 

finding all hands eagerly awaiting my arrival to sit 
down to a sumptuous banquet. 

I have inaugurated the rule that all birthdays shall 
be celebrated in this manner ; and, when his birthday 
comes round, each individual is at liberty to call for 
the very best that my lockers and the steward's store- 
room can furnish ; and in this I take credit for some 
wisdom. I know by experience what the dark cloud 
is under which we are slowly drifting, and I know 
that my ingenuity will be fully taxed to pass through 
it with a cheerful household ; and I know still further, 
that, whether men live under the Pole Star or under 
the Equator, they can be made happy if they can be 
made full ; and furtherinore, at some hour of the day, 
be it twelve or be it six, all men must " dine ; " for 
are they not 

" a carnivorous production, 

Requiring meals, — at least one meal a day ? 
They cannot live, like woodcock, upon suction ; 
But, like the shark and tiger, must have prey." 

And hence they take kindly to venison and such like 
things, and they remember with satisfaction the ad- 
vice of St. Paul to the gentle Timothy, to " use a little 
wine for the stomach's sake." 

McCormick was not only the subject to be honored 
on this occasion, but to do honor to himself He has 
actually cooked his own dinner, and has done it well. 
My sailing-master is a very extraordinary person, and 
there seems to be no end to his accomj)lishments. 
Possessing a bright intellect, a good education, and a 
perfect magazine of nervous energy, he has, while 
knocking about the world, picked up a smattering of 
almost every thing known under the sun, from astron- 
omy to cooking, and from seamanship to gold-digging. 



THE SAILING-MASTER. 125 

A.nd he is something of a philosojDher, for he declares 
that he will have all the comfort he can get when off 
duty, while he does not seem to regard any sort of 
exposure, and is quite careless of himself, when on 
duty ; and besides, he appears to possess that highly 
useful faculty of being able to do for himself any thing 
that he may require to be done by others. He can 
handle a marline-spike as well as a sextant, and can 
play sailor, carpenter, blacksmith, cook, or gentleman 
with equal facility. So much for the man ; now for 
his feast. 

A day or so ago I found lying on my cabin-table a 
neat little missive which politely set forth, that " Mr. 
McCormick presents the compliments of the officers' 
mess to the Commander, and requests the honor of 
his company to dinner in their cabin, on the 21st in- 
stant, at six o'clock." And I have answered the sum- 
mons, and have got back again into my own den 
overwhelmed with astonishment at the skill of my 
sailing-master in that art, the cultivation of which has 
made Lucullus immortal and Soyer famous, and highly 
gratified to see both officers and men so well pleased. 
The bill of fare, " with some original illustrations by 
Radcliffe," set forth a very tempting invitation to a 
hungry man, and its provisions were generally fulfilled. 
There was a capital soup — jardiniere — nicely fla- 
vored, a boiled salmon wrapped in the daintiest of 
napkins, a roast haunch of venison weighing thirty 
pounds, and a brace of roast eider-ducks, with currant- 
jelly and apple-sauce, and a good variety of fresh veg- 
etables j and after this a huge plum-pudding, imported 
from Boston, which came in with the flames of Otard 
flickering all around its rotand lusciousness ; and then 
there was mince-pie and blanc-mange and nuts and 



126 A BIRTHDAY D^NER. 

raisins and olives and Yankee cheese and Boston 
crackers and coffee and cigars, and I don't know what 
else besides. There were a couple of carefully-treas- 
ured bottles of Moselle produced from the little recep- 
tacle under my bunk, and some madeira and sherry 
from the same place. 

The only dish that was purely local in its character 
was a mayonnaise of frozen venison (raw) thinl}^ sliced 
and dressed in the open air. It was very crisp, but 
its merits were not duly appreciated. The " Bill " 
wound up thus : — " Music on the fiddle by Knorr. 
Song, 'We won't go home till mornin',' by the mess. 
Original ' yarns ' always in order, but ' Joe Millers ' 
forbidden on penalty of clearing out the ' fire-hole ' 
for the balance of the nio;ht." 

I left the party two hours ago in unrestrained en- 
joyment of the evening. And right good use do they 
appear to be making of the occasion. The whole 
ship's company seem to be like Tam O'Shanter, — 

" O'er a' the ills o' life victorious," 

without, however, so far as I can discover, any thing 
of the cause which led to that renowned individual's 
satisfactory state of mind. The sailors are following 
up their feast with a lively dance, into which they 
have forced Marcus and Jacob ; while the ofiicers, like 
true-born Americans, are making speeches. At this 
moment I hear some one proposing the health of 
"The Great Polar Bear." 

'^\ 



CHAPTER X. 

JOURNEY ON THE GLACIER. — THE FIRST CAMP. — SCALING THE GLACIER.— 
CHARACTER OF ITS SURFACE. — THE ASCENT. —DRIVEN BACK BY A GALE. 
— LOW TEMPERATURE. — DANGEROUS SITUATION OF THE PARTY. —A MOON- 
LIGHT SCENE. 

NoTwiTHSTAJSTDiNG that we had no actual clayhght 
even at noontime, yet it was hght enough for travel- 
ing I and the moon being full, and adding its bright- 
ness to that of the retiring sun, I felt no hesitation 
in carrying into execution my contemplated journey 
upon the glacier. The severe gales appeared to have 
subsided, and I thought that the undertaking might 
be made with safety. 

I could do nothing at this period that would bear 
directly upon my ]3lans of exploration toward the 
north, and I desired to employ my time to the best 
advantage. The sea immediately outside of the har- 
bor still remained unfrozen, and we were kept close 
prisoners within Hartstene Bay — being unable to 
pass around the capes which bounded it to the north 
and south. Both Cape Alexander and Cape Ohlsen 
were still lashed by the troubled sea. There was evi- 
dently a large open area in the mouth of the Sound, 
extendino; down into the "North Water." When the 
wind set in from that direction the ice was broken up 
far within the bay, to be drifted off when it changed 
to the eastward. 

Besides this, even if the ice had closed up, so little 
faith had I in the autumn as a season for sledge trav- 



128 JOURNEY ON THE GLACIER. 

eling upon the sea, that I doubt if I should have 
attempted a journey in that quarter. In those posi- 
tions most favorable to early freezing the ice does not 
unite firmly until the darkness has fully set in ; and 
traveling is not only attended with much risk, but 
with great loss of that physical strength so necessary 
to resist tlie insidious influences of the malady, hith- 
erto so often fatal to sojourners in the Arctic darkness. 
And it has been the general judgment of my prede- 
cessors in this region, that the late spring and early 
summer are alone calculated for successful sleds-e trav- 
eling. I recall but two commanders who have sent 
parties into the field in the autumn, and in both of 
these cases the attempt was, apparently, not only use- 
less, but prejudicial. The men were broken down by 
the severity of the exposure — having been almost 
constantly wet and always cold — and when the dark- 
ness set in they were laid up with the scurvy ; and in 
the spring it was discovered that the depots which 
they had established were, for the most part, either 
destroyed by bears or were otherwise unavailable. 

With inland traveling the case is different. There 
is then no risk of getting wet, and I have not ordina- 
rily ex2oerienced serious difficulty in traveling at any 
temperature, however severe, provided I could keep 
my party dry. Some dampness is, however, almost 
unavoidable even on land journeys, and this is, in 
truth, one of the most embarrassing obstacles with 
which the Arctic traveler has to contend. Even at 
low temperatures he cannot Vholly avoid some moist- 
ure to his clothes and fur bedding, caused by the 
warmth of his own person melting the snow beneath 
him while he sleeps. 

This being our first journey, of course everybody 



JOURNEY ON THE GLACIER. 129 

was eager to go. I had at first intended to take the 
dogs, with Jensen as my only companion and driver ; 
but upon talking the matter over with that individual, 
(in whose judgment with respect to such things I had 
much confidence), I yielded to his opinion that the 
dogs were not available for that kind of work. I had 
reason afterwards to regret the decision, for it was 
found that they might have been used during some 
parts of the journey with great advantage. It oc- 
curred to me, upon subsequent reflection, that for 
Jensen's aspersions of the dogs an ample apology 
might be found in Sonntag's broken barometer. 

Having concluded to make the journey with men 
alone, my choice fell upon Mr. Knorr, John McDonald, 
Harvey Hey wood. Christian Petersen, and the Esqui- 
mau Peter. McDonald was one of my very best sail- 
ors — a short, well-knit fellow, always ready for work. 
"Christian was not unlike him in make, disposition, and 
endurance, and, although a carpenter, was yet some- 
thing of a sailor. He had lived during several years 
in Greenland, and had become inured to a life of ex- 
posure. Heywood was a landsman from the far-West, 
and had joined me from pure enthusiasm. He was 
full of courage and energy, and, although occ-upying 
a position in the ship's company much inferior to his 
deserts, yet nothing better could be done for him. 
He was bent upon accompanying the expedition, no 
matter in what capacity.^ With Peter the reader is 
already acquainted. 

We set out on the 22d of October, the day follow- 
ing the celebration which closes the last chapter. Our 

1 It affords me great satisfaction to learn recently that Harvey Heyr 
wood has served during the late -war, in the Southwest, with great gal- 
lantry, winning for himself a commission, being attached to the engineers, 
on the general staff. I found him to be an excellent draughtsman. 



130 THE FIRST CAMP. 

sledge was lightly laden with a small canvas tent, two 
buffalo-skins for bedding, a cooking-lamp, and provis- 
ions for eight days. Our personal equipment needs 
but a brief description. An extra pair of fur stock- 
ings, a tin cup, and an iron spoon, per man, was the 
whole of it. 

Our lirst camp was made at the foot of the glacier. 
The first camp of a journey anywhere in the world 
is usually uncomfortable enough, notwithstanding it 
may perhaps have its bright side ; but this one, to my 
little party, did not appear to have any bright side at 
all. The temperature was — 11°, and we had no 
other fire than what was needed in our furnace- 
lamp for cooking our hash and coffee. I believe no 
one slept. Our tent was pitched, of necessity, on a 
sloping hill-side, and on the smoothest bed of stones 
that we could find. We turned out in the moonlight 
and went to work. 

The next journey carried us to the top of the gla- 
cier, and it was a very serious day's business. I have 
already described, in the last chapter, the rugged char- 
acter of the gorge through which we were obliged to 
travel, in order to reach a point where we could scale 
the glacier. The laden sledge could not be dragged 
over the rocks and blocks of ice, and the men were 
therefore compelled to carry our equipments, piece by 
piece, on their shoulders. Eeaching the spot where, 
with Mr. Sonntag, I had before made an ascent, we 
prepared to hoist the sledge. 

The scenery was here quite picturesque. We were 
standing in a little triangular valley, with a lake in 
its centre. At our left rose the great glacier, and 
at our right a small stream of ice poured through 
a deep gorge. Before us stood a massive pillar of 



SCALING THE GLACIER. 131 

red-sandstone rock, behind which these two streams 
uniting, wholly surrounded it, making it truly an 
island — an island in a sea of ice. The little lake 
exhibited a phenomenon which I found quite instruc- 
tive in connection with my present journey. It had 
been well filled with water at the close of the thaw 
season, and the ice was formed upon it before the 
water had subsided. When the lake had drained 
off under the glacier the ice was left with no other 
support than the rocks. In many places it had bent 
down with its own weight, and in one instance I ob- 
served that, the pressure being finally exerted on the 
corners of the remaining slab, this ice, in a tempera- 
ture below zero, and six inches thick, had been twisted 
into a shape resembling the mold-board of a farmer's 
plow. 

The first attempt to scale the glacier was attended 
with an incident which looked rather serious at the 
moment. The foremost member of the party missed 
his footing as he was clambering up the rude steps. 
and, sliding down the steep side, scattered those who 
were below him to right and left, and sent them rolling 
into the valley beneath. The adventure might have 
been attended with serious consequences, for there 
were many rocks projecting above the snow and ice at 
the foot of the slope. The next effort was more suc- 
cessful, and the end of a rope being carried over the 
side of the glacier, the sledge was drawn up the in- 
clined plane, and we started off upon our journey. 
The ice was here very rough and much broken, and 
was almost wholly free from snow. 

We had not traveled long before an accident hap- 
pened to me similar to that which had before occurred 
to Mr. Sonntag. Walking in advance of the party, 



132 THE ASCENT. 

who were dragging the sledge, I found myself, with- 
out any warning, suddenly sinking through the snow, 
and was only saved by holding firmly to a wooden 
staff which I carried over my shoulder, fearful that 
such a misadventure might befall me. The staff 
spanned the opening and supported me until I could 
scramble out. The crack may not have been very 
deep, but, not having found any support for my feet, 
I felt glad to have been able to postpone the solution 
of the interesting scientific question, as to whether 
these fissures extend entirely through the body of the 
glacier, to some future occasion. 

As we neared the centre of the glacier the surface 
became more smooth, and gave evidence of greater 
security. The great roughness of the sides was no 
doubt due to an uneven conformation of that portion 
of the valley upon which the ice rested. 

Journeying then about five miles, we pitched our 
tent upon the ice, and, turning into it, after a hearty 
supper of hash, bread, and coffee, we slept soundly, — 
being too much fatigued to give thought to the tem- 
perature, which had fallen several degrees lower than 
during the previous night. 

On the following day we traveled thirty miles ; and 
the ascent, which, during the last march, had been at 
an angle of about 6°, diminished gradually to about 
one third of that angle of elevation ; and from a sur- 
face of hard ice we had come upon an even plain of 
compacted snow, through which no true ice could be 
found after digging down to the depth of three feet. 
At that depth, however, the snow assumed a more 
gelid condition, and, although not actually ice, we 
could not penetrate further into it with our shovel 
without great difficulty. The snow was covered with 



EXCESSIVE COLD. 133 

a crust through which the foot broke at every step, 
thus makmg the traveling very laborious. 

About twenty-five miles were made during the fol- 
lowing day, the track being of the same character as 
the day before, and at about the same elevation ; but 
the condition of my party warned me against the 
hazard of continuing the journey. The temperature 
had fallen to 30° below zero, and a fierce gale of wind 
meeting us in the face, drove us into our tent for shel- 
ter, and, after resting there for a few hours, compelled 
our return. I had, however, accomplished the princi- 
pal purpose of my journey, and had not in any case 
intended to proceed more than one day further, at 
this critical period of the year. 

My party had not yet become sufficiently inured to 
exposure at such low temperatures to enable them 
to bear it without risk. . They were all more or less 
touched with the frost, and the faces of two of them 
had been so often frozen that they had become very 
painful and much swollen, and their feet being con- 
stantly cold, I was fearful of some serious accident 
if we did not speedily seek safety at a lower le\el. 
The temperature fell to 34° below zero during the 
night, and it is a circumstance worthy of mention 
that the lowest record of the thermometer at Port 
Foulke, during our absence, was 22° higher. The men 
complained bitterly, and could not sleep. One of 
them seemed likely to give up altogether, and I was 
compelled to send him into the open air to save him- 
self from perishing by a vigorous walk. 

The storm steadily increased in force, and, the tem- 
perature falling lower and lower, we were all at length 
forced to quit the tent, and in active exercise strive to 
prevent ourselves from freezing. To face the wind 



134 A DANGEROUS SITUATION. 

was not possible, and shelter was nowhere to be found 
upon the unbroken plain. There was but one direc- 
tion in which we could move, and that was with our 
backs to the gale. Much as I should have liked to 
continue the journey one day more, it was clear to 
me that longer delay would not alone endanger the 
lives of one or two members of my party, but would 
wholly defeat the purposes of the expedition by the 
destruction of all of us. 

It was not without much difficulty that the tent 
was taken down and bundled upon the sledge. The 
wind blew so fiercely that we could scarcely roll it up 
with our stiffened hands. The men were suffering 
with pain, and could only for a few moments hold on 
to the hardened canvas. Their fingers, freezing con- 
tinually, required active pounding to keep them upon 
the flickering verge of life. We did not wait for neat 
stowage or an orderly start. Danger suggests prompt 
expedients. 

Our situation at this camp was as sublime as it was 
dangerous. We had attained an altitude of five thou- 
sand feet above the level of the sea, and we were sev- 
enty miles from the coast, in the midst of a vast frozen 
Sahara, immeasurable to the human eye. There was 
neither hill, mountain, nor gorge anywhere in view. 
We had completely sunk the strip of land which lies 
between the mer de glace and the sea ; and no object 
met the eye but our feeble tent, which bent to the 
storm. Fitful clouds swept over the face of the full- 
orbed moon, which, descending toward the horizon, 
glimmered through the drifting snow that whirled out 
of the illimitable distance, and scudded over the icy 
plain ; — to the eye, in undulating lines of downy soft- 
ness ; to the flesh, in showers of piercing darts. 



JOURNEYING BY MOONLIGHT 135 

Our only safety was in flight ; and like a ship driven 
before a tempest which she cannot withstand, and 
which has threatened her ruin, we turned our backs 
to the gale ; and, hastening down the slope, we ran to 
save our lives. 

We traveled upw^ards of forty miles, and had de- 
scended about three thousand feet before we ventured 
to halt. The wind was much less severe at this point 
than at the higher level, and the temperature had 
risen twelve degrees. Although we reposed without 
risk, yet our canvas shelter was very cold ; and, not- 
withstanding the reduced force of the gale, there was 
some difficulty in keeping the tent from being blown 
away. 

We reached Port Foulke the next evening, after a 
toilsome march, without having suffered any serious 
accident. 

The latter part of the journey was made wholly by 
moonlight. The air was found to be quite cafm when 
we reached the base of the glacier ; and the journey 
down its lower face, and through the gorge, and over 
the valley, and across Alida Lake and the Fiord, was 
made in the presence of a scene which was very im- 
pressive. Sheets of drifting snow swept over the 
white-crested hills like insubstantial spirits flitting 
wildly through the night. These told that the gale 
yet howled above ; but in our lowly shelter the air 
was still as a cave in the midst of winds. No cloud 
obscured the broad archway of the skies. The gentle 
stars, robed in the drapery of night, rejoiced to behold 
their forms in the smooth mirror of the lake. The 
glacier threw back the chilly moonbeans. The shad- 
ows of the dark cliffs stole into the flood of light 
which filled the valley. The white Fiord, dotted with 



136 AN IMPRESSIVE SCENE. 

islands, wound between the rugged capes, and its 
ice-clad waters spread out into the bay and then 
merged Math the broad sea. In the dim distance 
loomed up the lofty snow-clad mountains of the west 
coast. Upon the sea floated a heavy bank of mist, 
which, slowly changing when moved by the wind, dis- 
closed within its dark bosom the ghostly form of an 
iceberg ; and a feeble auroral light fringed this sombre 
cloak of the waves. Angry flashes darted from be- 
hind this mass of impenetrable blackness, and, rush- 
ing fiercely among the constellations, seemed like 
fiery arrows shot up by evil spirits of another world. 




CHAPTER XI. 

IMPORTANT RESULTS OF THE RECENT JOURNEY. — THE GLACIER SYSTEM Of 
GREENLAND. — GENERAL DISCUSSION OF THE SUBJECT. — ILLUSTRATIONS 
DRAWN FROM THE ALPINE GLACIERS. — GLACIER MOVEIVIENT. — OUTLINE 
OP THE GREENLAND MER DE GLACE. 

The results of the journey recorded in the last 
chapter gave me great satisfaction. They furnished 
an important addition to the observations which I had 
made in former years ; and I was glad to have an 
opportunity to form a more clear conception of the 
glacier system of Greenland. The journey possesses 
the greater value, that it was the first successful 
attempt which had been made to penetrate into the 
interior over the mer de glace. 

Although I had, in my overland journey from Yan 
Rensselaer Harbor with Mr. Wilson, in 1853, reached 
the face of the me^^ de glace, where it rested behind the 
lofty chain of hills which runs parallel with the axis 
of the continent, yet this was the first time that I had 
actually been upon it ; and its vastness did not on the 
former occasion impress me as now. Even the de- 
scription of the great Humboldt Glacier which I had 
from Mr. Bonsall, and the knowledge that I had ac- 
quired of the immense glacier discharges of the region 
further south, failed to inspire me with a full compre- 
hension of the immensity of ice which lies in the val- 
leys and upon the sides of the Greenland mountains. 

Greenland may indeed be regarded as a vast reservoir 



138 THE GLACIER SYSTEM. 

of ice. Upon the slopes of its lofty hills the downy 
snow-flake has become the hardened crystal ; and, in- 
creasing little by little from year to year and from 
centmy to century, a broad cloak of frozen vapor has 
at length completely overspread the land, and along 
its wide border there pour a thousand crystal streams 
into the sea. 

The manner of this glacier growth, beginning in 
some remote epoch, when Greenland, nursed in 
warmth and sunshine, was clothed with vegetation, 
is a subject of much interest to the student of physi- 
cal geography. The explanation of the phenomena 
is, however, greatly simplified by the knowledge which 
various explorers have contributed from the Alps, — 
a quarter having all the value of the Greenland moun- 
tains, as illustrating the laws which govern the for- 
mation and movements of mountain ice, and which 
possesses the important advantage of greater accessi- 
bility. 

It would be foreign to the scope and design of this 
book to enter into any general discussion of the vari- 
ous theories which have been put forth in explanation 
of the sublime phenomena, which, as witnessed in the 
Alpine regions, have furnished a fruitful source of 
widely different conclusions. It was, however, easy 
to perceive in the grand old bed of ice over which I 
had traveled, those same physical markings which had 
arrested the attention of Agassiz and Forbes and Tyn- 
dall, and other less illustrious explorers of Alpine gla- 
ciers ; and it was a satisfaction to have confirmed by 
actual experiment in the field the reflections of the 
study. The subject had long been to me one of great 
interest ; and I was much gratified to be able to make 
a comparison between the Alpine and Greenland ice. 



GLACIERS. 139 

It was not difficult to read in the immense deposit 
over which I had walked whence came the suggestion 
of dilatation to Scheuchzer, or of sliding to De Saussure ; 
or, in the steady progress of knowledge and discovery, 
the principles of action that are illustrated by the 
terms vitrious and viscous and differential motion, as ap- 
plied to the Alpine ice by eminent explorers of later 
date. 

The subject of Greenland ice is one about which 
there exists much popular misapprehension. As be- 
fore stated, I do not here propose to enter into a 
minute discussion of the manner of its formation and 
movement, but will content myself with simply recog- 
nizing the fact, and with drawing such comparison as 
may be needful between the mountain ice of Grreen- 
land and similar deposits in other quarters of the 
world. Under this head I trust that the reader may 
find sufficient interest in the line of argument to fol- 
low me through a few pages, in a general review of 
the whole field. At a later period I will recur to some 
more specific details of information and discussion, as 
the narrative carries us to other objects of inquiry. 

In order to make the subject clear, I cannot do 
better than to cite my illustrations from the region 
of the Alps, where, through a long period, earnest 
explorers have laboriously pursued their inquiries. 
One of the most important and gifted of these was 
M. Le Chanonie Rendu, Bishop of Annecy. This ex- 
cellent and worthy man, and sincere devotee as well 
of science as of religion, died some seven years ago. 
A lifetime spent among the rugged crags and ice-cliffs 
of the Alpine Mountains had familiarized him with 
every phase of Nature in that region of sublimity and 
home of the wonderful. Professor Tyndall says truly 



140 ORIGIN OF GLACIERS. 

of him, that "his knowledge was extensive, his rea- 
soning close and accurate, and his faculty of observa- 
tion extraordinary ; " and he early brought his splen- 
did faculties of mind and his energy of body and 
profound love of truth to bear upon the elucidation 
of those natural phenomena which were constantly 
exhibited in his presence. After many years of con- 
scientious toil, he gave to the world the results of his 
systematic investigations in an essay which was pub- 
lished in the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sci- 
ences of Savoy, entitled, " Theorie des Glaciers de la 
Savoier 

I will use the information acquired from this source 
as the basis of my present argument, — to demon- 
strate, by the law as interpreted to us from the Alps 
by this learned priest of Annecy, how the Arctic con- 
tinent receives its cloak of crystals^ and how it dis- 
charges the superabundant accumulation. 

Rendu first observes the piling up of the mountain 
\ snows. The snow falling upon the mountains is partly 

converted into water, which runs away to the river, 
and through the river to the sea ; and is partly con- 
verted into ice. The ice thus formed Rendu estimates 
to equal, in the Alps, fifty-eight inches annually, — 
"which would make Mont Blanc four hundred feet 
higher in a century, and four thousand feet higher in 
a thousand years." 

"Now it is evident," observes he, "that nothing 
like this can occur in Nature." 

This ice must be removed by the operation of some 
natural cause ; and observation having shown that 
this actually takes place, Rendu occupies himself with 
methods to discover how Nature has performed the 
task ; and he comes to this very rational conclusion : 



THE LAW OF CIRCULATION. 141 

That the glacier and the river are in effect the same ; 
that between them there is a resemblance so com- 
plete that it is impossible to find in the latter a cir- 
cumstance which does not exist in the former ; and 
as the river drains the ivaters which fall upon the hill- 
sides to the ocean, so the glacier drains the ice which 
forms from the snows on the mountain-sides down to 
the same level : 

And he closes his argument with declaring the 
Law: — 

" The conserving will of the Creator has employed 
for the jDermanence of His work the great Law of Cir- 
culation, which, strictly examined, is found to reproduce 
itself in all parts of Nature." 

And, in illustration of this law, we see that the 
waters circulate from the ocean to the air by evapora- 
tion, from the air again to the earth in the form of 
dews and rains and snows, and from the earth back 
again to the ocean through the great rivers which 
have gathered up the little streams from every hill- 
side and valley. 

Now this law of Circulation is, in the icy regions of 
the Alps, of the lofty Himalayas, of the Andes, of the 
mountains of Norway and of Greenland, the same as 
in the lower and warmer regions of the earth, where 
the rivers drain the surface-water to the sea. 

A D-lacier is in effect but a flowing stream of frozen 
water; and the river systems of the Temperate and 
Equatorial Zones become the glacier si/stems of the 
Arctic and Antarctic. 

We have now seen that a part of the snow which 
falls upon the mountains is converted into ice, and 
this ice, strange though it seems, is movable. By 
what exact principle of movement has not yet been 



142 MOVEMENT OF THE GLACIERS. 

decided to the mutual satisfaction of the learned, but 
it is nevertheless true. Rendu truly remarks : — 

" There is a multitude of facts which would seem 
to necessitate the belief that the substance of glaciers 
enjoys a kind of ductility, which permits it to mould 
itself to the locality which it occupies, to grow thin, 
to swell and to narrow itself like a soft paste." 

And this, true of the Alpine passes, is true also of 
the Greenland valleys. A great frozen flood is pour- 
ing down the east and west slopes of the Greenland 
continent ; and, as in the Alps, what is gained in 
height by one year's freezing is lost by the downward 
flow of the mobile mass. 

And this movement is not embarrassed by any ob- 
stacle. The lower chains of hills do not arrest it, for 
it moulds itself to their form, sweeps through every 
opening between them, or overtops them. Valleys 
do not interfere with its onward march, for the frozen 
stream enters them, and levels them with the highest 
hills. It heeds not the precipice, for it leaps over it 
into the plain below, — a giant, frozen waterfall. 
Winter and summer are to it alike the same. It 
moves ever forward in its irresistible career, — a vast, 
frozen tide swelling to the ocean. It pours through 
every outlet of the coast ranges, down every ravine 
and valley, overriding every impediment, grinding 
and crushing over the rocks ; and at length it comes 
upon the sea. But here it does not stop. Pushing 
back the water, it makes its own coast line ; and, 
moving still onward, accommodating itself to every 
inequality of the bed of the sea, as it had before done 
to the surface of the land, filling up the wide bay or 
fiord, expanding where it expands, narrowing where 
it narrows, swallowing up the islands in its slow and 



FORMATION OF ICEBERGS. 143 

steady course, it finally reaches many miles beyond 
the original shore-line. 

And now it has attained the climax of its progress. 

When, long ages ago, after pouring over the sloping 
land, it finally reached the coast and looked down the 
bay which it was ultimately to fill up, its face was 
many hundreds of feet high. Gradually it sank below 
the line of waters as it moved outward, and finally its 
front has almost wholly disappeared. 

In a former chapter I have mentioned that a block 
of fresh-water ice floating in sea water rises above the 
surface to the extent of one eighth of its Aveight and 
bulk, while seven eighths of it are below the surface. 
The cause of this is too well known to need more than 
a passing explanation. Every school-boy is aware 
that water, in the act of freezing, expands, and that in 
the crystal condition fresh water occupies about one 
tenth more space than when in a fluid state ; and ^ 
hence, when ice floats in the fresh water from which it 
was formed, one tenth of it is exposed above, while the 
remaining nine tenths are beneath the surface. When 
this same fresh-water ice (which it will be remembered 
is the composition of the glacier) is thrown into the 
sea, the proportion of that above to that below being 
chano;ed from one and nine to one and seven, is due to 
the greater density of the sea-water, caused by the 
salt which it holds in solution. 

Now it will be obvious that, as the glacier continues 
to press further and further into the sea, the natural 
equilibrium of the ice must ultimately become dis- 
turbed, — that is, the end of the glacier is forced fur- 
ther down into the water than it would be were it 
free from restraint, and at liberty to float according to 
the properties acquired by congelation. The moment 



144 FORMATION OF ICEBERGS. 

that more than seven eighths of its front are below 
the water line, the glacier will, like an apple pressed 
down by the hand in a pail of water, have a tendency 
to rise, until it assumes its natural equilibrium. Now 
it will be remembered that the glacier is a long stream 
of ice, many miles in extent, and, although the end 
may have this tendency to rise, yet it is, for a time, 
held down firmly by the continuity of the whole mass. 
At length, however, as the end of the glacier buries 
itself more and more in the water, the tendency to rise 
becomes stronger and stronger, and finally the force 
thus generated is sufficient to break off a fragment, 
which, once free, is buoyed up to the level that is nat- 
ural to it. This fragment may be a solid cube half a 
mile through, or even of much greater dimensions. 
The disruption is attended with a great disturbance 
of the waters, and with violent sounds which may be 
heard for many miles ; but, floating now free in the 
water, the oscillations which the sudden change im- 
parted to it gradually subside ; and, after acquiring its 
natural equilibrium, the crystal mass drifts slowly out 
to sea with the current, and is called an Iceberg.^ 

And thus the glacier has fulfilled its part in the 
great law of Circulation and change. 

The dew-drop, distilled upon the tropic palm-leaf, 
falling to the earth, has reappeared in the gurgling 
spring of the primeval forest, has flown with the riv- 
ulet to the river, and with the river to the ocean ; has 
then vanished into the air, and, wafted northward by 

1 It was formerly supposed that the icebergs were discharged by the 
force of gravity, but this error, as well as the true theory of berg discharge, 
was pointed out by Dr. H. Rink, now Royal Inspector of South Greenland. 
Some fragments are, however, detached from the face of the glacier and 
fall into the water, but these are always necessarily of comparatively small 
dimensions, and can scarcely be called bergs. 



THE LAW OF CIRCULATION. 145 

the unseen wind, lias fallen as a downy snow-flake ujDon 
the lofty mountain, where, penetrated by a solar ray, 
it has become again a little globule of water, and the 
chilly wind, following the sun, has converted this glob- 
ule into a crystal ; and the crystal takes up its wan- 
dering course again, seeking the ocean. 

But where its movement was once rapid, it is now 
slow ; where it then flowed with the river miles in 
an hour, it will now flow with the glacier not more in 
centuries ; and where it once entered calmly into the 
sea, it will now join the world of waters in the midst 
of a violent convulsion. 

We have thus seen that the iceberg is the discharge 
of the Arctic river, that the Arctic river is the glacier, 
and that the glacier is the accumulation of the frozen 
vapors of the air. We have watched this river, mov- 
ing on in its slow and steady course from the distant 
hills, until at length it has reached the sea j and we 
have seen the sea tear from the slothful stream a 
monstrous fragment, and take back to itself its own 
again. Freed from the shackles which it has borne in 
silence through unnumbered centuries, this new-born 
child of the ocean rushes with a wild bound into the 
arms of the parent water, where it is caressed by the 
surf and nursed into life again ; and the crystal drops 
receive their long-lost freedom, and fly away on the 
laughing waves to catch once more the sunbeam, and 
to run again their course through the long cycle of 
the ages. 

And this iceberg has more significance than the 
great flood which the glacier's southern sister, the 
broad Amazon, pours into the ocean from the slopes 
of the Andes and the mountains of Brazil. Solemn, 
stately, and erect, in tempest and in calm, it rides the 

10 



/' 



146 BEAUTY AND GRANDEUR OF ICEBERGS. 

deep. The restless waves resound through its brokeo 
archways and thunder against its adamantean walls. 
Clouds, impenetrable as those which shielded the 
graceful form of Arethusa, clothe it in the morning ; 
under the bright blaze of the noonday sun it is ar- 
mored in glittering silver ; it robes itself in the gor- 
geous colors of evening ; and in the silent night the 
heavenly orbs are mirrored in its glassy surface. 
Drifting snows whirl over it in the winter, and the 
sea-gulls swarm round it in the summer. The last 
rays of departing day linger upon its lofty spires ; and 
when the long darkness is past it catches the first 
gleam of the returning light, and its gilded dome her- 
alds the coming morn. The Elements combine to 
render tribute to its matchless beauty. Its loud voice 
is wafted to the shore, and the earth rolls it from crag 
to crag among the echoing hills. The sun steals 
through the veil of radiant fountains which flutter 
over it in the summer winds, and the rainbow on its 
pallid cheek betrays the warm kiss. The air crowns 
it with wreaths of soft vapor, and the waters around 
it take the hues of the emerald and the sapphire. In 
fulfillment of its destiny it moves steadily onward in 
its blue pathway, through the varjdng seasons and 
under the changeful skies. Slowly, as in ages long 
gone by it arose from the broad waters, so does it sink 
back into them. It is indeed a noble symbol of the 
Law, — a monument of Time's slow changes, more an- 
cient than the Egyptian Pyramids or the obelisk of 
Heliopolis. Its crystals were dew-drops and snow- 
flakes lono: before the human race was born in Eden. 
The glacier by which I had ascended to the mer de 
glace furnishes a fine illustration of growth and move- 
ment as I have described it. Coming down from the 



THE MER DE GLACE. 147 

mer de glace in a steadily flowing stream, it has at 
length filled np the entire valley in which it rests for 
a distance of ten miles ; and its terminal face, which, 
as heretofore stated, is one mile across, is now two 
miles from the sea. The angles and measurements 
of October, 1860, were repeated in July, 1861, as I 
shall have occasion hereafter to illustrate, and the re- 
sult showed the rate of progress of the glacier to be 
upwards of one hundred feet annually. It Avill thus be 
seen that more than a century will elapse before the 
front of the glacier arrives at the sea ; and since six 
miles must be traveled over before it reaches deep 
water, at least five hundred years will transpire before 
it discharges an iceberg of any considerable magni- 
tude. The movement of this glacier is much more 
rapid than others which I have explored. From " My 
Brother John's Glacier" the margin of the mer de 
glace sweeps around, behind the lofty hills back of 
Port Foulke, and comes down to the sea in a discharg- 
ing glacier above Cape Alexander, This has a face 
pf two miles, and some small icebergs are disengaged 
from it. Thence, after surrounding Cape Alexander, 
embracing it as with the arm of a mighty giant, it 
comes again into the water on its south side ; and, 
continuing thence southward in a succession of broad 
and irregular curves, a frozen river is poured out from 
this great inland sea of ice through every valley of 
the Greenland coast from Smith's Sound to Cape Fare- 
well, and from Cape Farewell on the Spitzbergen side 
northward to the remotest boundary of the explored. 
Northward .from " My Brother John's Glacier " it 
makes a broad curve in the rear of the hills hitherto 
mentioned, and opposite Van Rensselaer Harbor it is 
between fifty and sixty miles from the sea, where 



^ 



U8 



THE MER DE GLACE. 



it was reached by Mr. Wilson and myself, as before 
stated. Its first appearance upon the coast in that 
direction is at the head of Smith's Sound, in the 
great Humboldt Glacier, which is reputed to be sixty 
miles across. Beyond this it presses upon Washing- 
ton Land, and thence stretches away into the region 
of the unknown. 




CHAPTER XII. 

MY CABIN. — SURVEYING. — CASTOR AND POLLUX. — CONCERNING SCURVY. — 
DANGERS OF EATING COLD SNOW. — KNORR AND STARR. — FROST-BITES. — 
HANS, PETER, AND JACOB AGAIN. — COAL ACCOUNT. — THE FIRES. — COM- 
FORT OF OUR QUARTERS. — THE HOUSE ON DECK. — MILD VTEATHER. — 
JENSEN.— MRS. HANS. — JOHN WILLIAMS, THE COOK.— A CHEERFUL EVEN- 
ING. 

After a sound sleep had in some measure worn off 
the fatigues of the journey on the glacier, I returned 
to my diary : — 

October 28tli. 

I am not sorry to get back again into my cosy little 
cabin. I never knew before what a snug home I have 
in the midst of this Arctic wilderness. A few days on 
the ice and a few nights in a tent were required to 
give me a proper appreciation of its comforts. Once 
I had begun to regard it as a dingy, musty cell, fit 
only for a convict. Now it is a real " weary man's 
rest," an oasis in a desert, a port in a storm. The 
bright rays of the " fine-eyed UU-Erin " were not a 
more cheering guide to the love-bound Ossian than 
was the glimmer of this cabin-lamp as I came in last 
night from the cold, — trudging across the waste of 
snows. 

The curtains which inclose what is my lounge by 
day and my bed by night have taken on a brighter 
crimson. The wolf and bear skins which cover the 
lounge and the floor, protecting my feet against the 
frost which strikes up from below, are positively luxu- 



150 MY CABIN. 

rious ; the lamp, which I thought burned with a sickly 
sort of flame, is a very Drummond light compared 
with what it was ; the clock, which used to annoy me 
with its ceaseless ticking, now makes grateful music ; 
the books, which are stuck about in all available 
places, seem to be lost friends found again ; and the 
little pictures, which hang around wherever there is 
room, seem to smile upon me with a sort of sympa- 
thetic cheerfulness. Rolls of maps, unfinished sketches, 
scraps of paper, all sorts of books, including stray vol- 
umes of the " Penny Cyclopsedia " and Soyer's " Prin- 
ciples of Cooking," drawing implements, barometer 
cases, copies of Admiralty Blue Books, containing re- 
ports of the Arctic Search, track charts of all those 
British worthies, from Ross to Rae, who have gone in 
search of Sir John Franklin, litter the floor ; and, in- 
stead of annoying me with their presence, as they used 
to do, they seem to possess an air of quiet and refresh- 
ing comfort. My little pocket-sextant and compass, 
hanging on their particular peg, my rifle and gun and 
flask and pouch on theirs, with my traveling kit be- 
tween them, break the blank space on the bulk-head 
before me, and seem to speak a language of their own. 
My good and faithful friend Sonntag sits opposite to 
me at the table, reading. I write nestling among my 
furs, with my journal in my lap ; and when I contrast 
this night with the night on the glacier summit, and 
listen now to the fierce wind which howls over the 
deck and through the rigging, and think how dark 
and gloomy every thing is outside and how light and 
cheerful every thing is here below, I believe that I 
have as much occasion to write myself down a thank- 
ful man, as I am very sure I do, for once at least, a 
contented one. 



SURVEYING. 151 

Sonntag has given me a report of work clone dnring 
my absence, and so has McCormick. With Jensen I 
have had a talk about the hunt. I have dined with 
the officers, and all goes " merry as a marriage bell." 
My companions on the journey have recovered from 
their fatigue, and they seem none the worse for the 
tramp, except such of them as have been touched by 
the frost; and these look sorry enough. They get 
little consolation from their shipmates. 

I am much gratified to find that ever}^ thing has 
gone on so smoothly while I was away. Sonntag has 
been twice to the glacier, and has finished the survey 
and made some spirited sketches. He has also done 
some valuable work on a base line, accurately meas- 
ured upon the ice of the outer bay. This base line 
is 9100 feet long, and his triangulations give the fol- 
lowing distances from the western point of Starr 
Island : — 

To Cape Alexander, 8 nautical miles. 
" " Isabella, 31 " " 

« " Sabine, 42 " " 

My commands respecting the hunt have been care- 
fully observed, and numerous additions have been 
made to our rapidly accumulating stock of fresh food. 
This gives me much gratification. My experience 
with Dr. Kane has led me to believe that the scurvy, 
hitherto so often fatal to Arctic travelers, may be 
readily avoided by the liberal use of a fresh animal 
diet ; and, although I have a fair supply of canned 
meats and a good allowance of fresh vegetables, yet 
I do not wish to depend wholly upon them ; and, in 
order to make assurance doubly sure, I have endeav- 
ored to spare no pains in securing whatever game is 
within our reach. Accordingly I have alw^ays had a 



152 CONCERNING SCURVY. 

well-organized party of hunters, who are exempt from 
other duty, and this system I propose continuing. 
The result thus far has shown the correctness of my 
plan. A more healthy ship's company could not be 
desired. Not a single case of illness has yet oc- 
curred. I do not expect to have any scurvy in my 
party, and I am firmly impressed with the belief that 
at Port Foulke men might live indefinitely without 
being troubled with that " dread scourge of the Arctic 
Zone." I do not, however, wholly rely upon the hunt- 
ers. The moral sentiments have much to do with 
health everywhere ; and, with the best food in the 
world, unhappiness will make more than the heart 
sick. For my own part, I would rather take my 
chances against the scurvy with the herbs and the 
love, than with hatred and the stalled ox. Luckily 
my ship's company are as harmonious and happy as 
they are healthy, and the fault will be mine if they 
do not continue so. 

Our game-list, according to Knorr, who keeps the 
tally, sums up as follows : Reindeer 74, foxes 21, hares 
12, seals 1, eider-ducks 14, dovekies 8, auks 6, ptarmi- 
gan 1. This includes all that has been brought on 
board from the beginning. Besides these substantial 
contributions to our winter supplies, there are some 
twenty or thirty reindeer cached in various j^laces, 
which are available whenever we choose to bring 
them in. The dogs are the largest consumers. 

I find McCormick suffering with a sore throat and 
swelled tongue, resulting from eating snow. Leaving 
me at the glacier, he set out to return on board, and, 
growing thirsty by the way, without being aware of 
the evil consequences likely to result therefrom, com- 
menced eating snow to quench it. The effect of this 



CASTOR AND POLLUX. 153 

indulgence was so to inflame the mucous membrane 
as, in the end, to render the thirst greater and greater 
the more the desire was indulged. Finally respiration 
became difficult and painful, and he arrived on board 
much exhausted. It is a good lesson for the ship's 
company, — a fact doubtless more consoling to me 
than to the sufferer. 

October 29th. 

I went out to-day with Mr. Sonntag to his base line, 
and made some further measurements. In that direc- 
tion there are a couple of mammoth icebergs, which 
I have named " The Twins." They loom up grandly 
against the dark western sky. Castor carries his head 
230 feet above the sea, and Pollux, though of smaller 
dimensions, is seventeen feet higher. 

After our usual evening game of chess, we have 
talked over some further projects for the field. I 
propose a drive into the region of Humboldt Glacier, 
Sonntag one to Van Rensselaer Harbor. It is impor- 
tant that the meridian of this latter place should be 
connected with that of Port Foulke. I yield to Sonn- 
tag for the present, and he starts the day after to- 
morrow, weather permitting, — a proviso peculiarly 
necessary in this blustering place. There is very little 
light left to us, but the moon is full, and will probably 
serve to guide the party. There was not even the 
faintest streak of light to-day at three o'clock. 

October 30th. 

Sonntag is all ready to start. He will take two 
sledges, with Jensen and Hans for drivers. They are 
prepared for seven days' absence. I have allowed 
Sonntag to provide his own equipment, without inter- 
ference. He has, I think, made it a little more cum- 



154 FROST-BITES. 

brous than he should, — a little too much for personal 
comfort, that will be dead weight. Tjraveling in this 
region is governed by very rigorous laws, and very 
little latitude is allowed in the choice of one's outfit. 
There is probably no place in the world where the 
traveler is compelled to deny himself so completely 
those little articles of convenience which contribute 
so much to the personal satisfaction. On shipboard 
he may indulge his taste for luxury to the extent of 
his means ; but when he takes to the ice-fields and 
the dog-sledge he must come down to hard fare and 
carry nothing but what is absolutely necessary to sus- 
tain life, — and this is simply meat, bread, and coffee, 
or tea if he prefers it. The snow must serve for his 
bed, and his only covering must be what is just suffi- 
cient to keep him from freezing. Fire he cannot have, 
except the needful lamp to cook his food, and if he 
should get cold he must warm himself by exercise. 
During my late journey to the glacier, I carried for 
fuel only three quarts of alcohol and the same quan- 
tity of oil, and this was not all used. 

I went this morning into the hold to look after my 
companions on the recent journey. They have all 
recovered from their little frost-bites except Christian, 
whose nose is as big as his fist and as red as a beet. 
He takes good-naturedly the jeers of his messmates. 
Knorr is, however, almost as badly off in the nasal re- 
gion as Christian, but he has suffered no further misad- 
venture. The nose is, indeed, a serious inconvenience 
to the Arctic traveler, for it insists upon exposing it- 
self upon every occasion ; and if you put it under a 
mask, it revenges itself by coaxing the moisture of 
the breath up beneath it, so that in an hour's time the 
intended protector becomes a worse enemy than the 



KNORR AKD STARR. 155 

wind itself. The mask is, in a little while, but a lump 
of ice. 

My youthful secretary, by the way, bore up bravely 
on the tramp. I should not have taken him but for 
his constant and earnest appeals. There does not ap- 
pear to be much of life in him, but he has pluck, and 
that is an excellent substitute ; and thus far this qual- 
ity has carried him through. My. friends told me, be- 
fore leaving home, that I was needlessly taking him 
to a very cold grave ; but he does not appear inclined 
to fulfill their predictions, and seems likely to hold his 
own with the hardest-fisted sailor of the crew. He is 
but eighteen years old, and, except Starr, who is about 
the same age, is the youngest member of my party. 
Starr, too, is a plucky and useful boy. He got into 
the party against my intentions, but I am very far 
from sorry. Inspired with enthusiasm for Arctic ad- 
venture, he volunteered to go with me in any capac- 
ity ; and, having no convenient room in the cabin, I 
told him that he could go in the forecastle, little 
dreaming that he would accept my oifer; but, sure 
enough, he turned up the next day in sailor's rig. His 
bright beaver and sliining broadcloth and polished 
pumps had given place to caj) and red shirt and sea 
boots, and I went on board to find the metamorphosed 
boy of recent elegance manfully at work. Admiring 
his spirit, I promoted him on the spot, and sent him 
aft to the sailing-master, — the best I could do for 
him. 

The rivalry between Hans and Peter waxes warmer. 
My sympathies go with the latter, of which I have to- 
day given substantial proof Up to this time Hans has 
had charge of Sonntag's team, and has used it pretty 
much as he pleased • but he being absent this morn- 



156 HANS, PETER, AND JACOB. 

ing, and Jensen being off after some venison, I used 
Peter to drive me to the lower glacier, where I wished 
to make some sketches. It appears that this excited 
Hans' ire against poor Peter ; which fact being duly 
reported by Jensen, I have taken the dogs from Hans 
and given them into Peter's exclusive charge. So one 
savage is pleased and the other is displeased ; but we 
shall probably have no public exhibitions of his spleen, 
as I have read him a lecture upon the evil conse- 
quences arising from the display of ill-temper, which 
he will probably remember, — as likely, however, for 
evil as for good ; for he is not of a forgiving disposi- 
tion. Jensen tells me that " they have made friends," 
which probably means mischief. 

Hans seems to retain the intelligence for which he 
was distinguished when in the Advance. His charac- 
ter has undergone but little change, and his face ex- 
presses the same traits as formerly, — the same 
smooth, oily voice, the same cunning little eye, the 
same ugly disj^osition. I have very little faith in 
him ; but Sonntag has taken him into his favor, and 
greatly prefers bird to Jensen for a dog-driver. 

Peter, on the other hand, is a quiet, unobtrusive fel- 
low, and is always ready and willing to do any thing 
that is required of him, even by the sailors, with whom 
he is very popular ; and, of course, as with good-nature 
everywhere, he is sometimes imposed upon. Jacob is 
Peter's brother, and he continues to be the butt of the 
forecastle. The men have made a bargain with him, 
and, according to all accounts, it works satisfactorily. 
He is to wash their dishes, and they in return are to 
give him all the crumbs that fall from their table. On 
these he is growing more and more fat, and he has now 
greater difficulty than ever in getting about. There 



COAL ACCOUNT. 167 

is a beam in the fore-hold, only two feet and a half 
from the floor, which he can no longer climb over. 
His efforts to crawl under it have been not unaptly 
compared to those of a seal waddling over the ice 
about its breathing-hole. Mr. Wardle's fat boy was 
not more shapeless, and, like that plethoric individual, 
he chiefly divides his time between eating and sleep- 
ing. His cheeks are puffed out in a very ridiculous 
manner, and altogether he answers very well the de- 
scription of Mirabeau's corpulent acquaintance, who 
seemed to have been created for no other purpose 
than to show to what extent the human skin is capa- 
ble of being stretched without bursting. The execu- 
tive officer tells me that he sent him the other day to 
the upper deck to dress a couple of reindeer ; but, 
having proceeded far enough to expose a tempting 
morsel, he halted in his work, carved off a slice of the 
half-frozen flesh, and was found some time afterwards 
fast asleep between the two dead animals, with the 
last fragment of his honne louche dangling from his 
lips. 

November 1st. 

The new month comes in stormy. The travelers 
were to have set out to-day, but a fierce gale detains 
them on board. The moon is now three days past 
fidl, and if they are delayed much longer they will 
scarcely have light enough for the journey. 

McCormick and Dodge have set a bear-trap between 
the icebergs Castor and Pollux. It is a mammoth 
steel-trap, and is baited with venison and fastened with 
my best ice-anchor. I pity the poor beast that gets 
his foot in it. 

I have been overhauling our coal account, and have 
regulated the daily consumption for the winter. We 



158 THE HOUSE ON DECK. 

have thirty-four tons on board, and have but two fires. 
Two and a half buckets full a day go to the galley 
stove in the hold, and one and a half to the cabin ; 
and with this consumption of fuel the people live in 
comfort and cook their food and melt from the ice an 
abundant supply of water. The ice, which is of the 
clearest and purest kind, comes from a little berg 
which is frozen up in the mouth of the harbor, about 
half a mile away. I have no stove in my own cabin, 
all the heat which I require coming to me across the 
companion-way through the slats of my door, from 
the officers' stove. The temperature in which I live 
ranges from 40° to 60°, and, among my furs, I lounge 
through the hours that I do not spend out of doors 
as snug and comfortable as I could wish to be. Some- 
thing of my comfort is, however, due to the excess of 
heat of the officers' quarters. The temperature of 
their cabin runs sometimes to 75°, and is seldom lower 
than 60°, and they are at times actually sweltering. 
Our quarters are throughout free from dampness, 
and are well ventilated. A portion of the main-hatch 
above the men's quarters is always open, and the com- 
panion-scuttle is seldom closed. This ventilation being 
through the house on deck, that apartment is kept at 
quite a comfortable degree of warmth ; and it is a 
very convenient medium between the lower deck and 
the outer air. In this house such work is performed 
as cannot be done below ; and there, in the dim light 
of the signal-lamp, which hangs suspended from the 
main-boom, one may see almost at any time a motley 
group of men working or playing, as the case may be. 
Forward in one corner stands Hans's tent, through 
the slits in which come the cheerful glimmer of a 
lamp and the lullaby of an Esquimau mother, sooth- 



COMFORT OF OUR QUARTERS. 159 

ing to sleep her " pretty one." On the opposite side 
is our butcher-shop, where are piled up a lot of frozen 
reindeer, awaiting Marcus and Jacob, — the butchers. 
Near by stands our portable forge and anvil, where 
McCormick is forever blowing the hot embers and 
pounding at nobody knows what. Dodge says " he is 
killing time." Under the window amidships stands 
the carpenter's bench and the vice, where Christian, 
Jensen, Peter, and Hans are always tinkering at some 
hunting or sledge implements, — while, mingling pro- 
miscuously on the deck, the officers and men may be 
seen smoking their pipes, and apparently intent only 
upon as little exertion and as much amusement as the 
Arctic night will give them. A cheerful light bursts 
up from below through the hatchways, bringing with 
it manj^ a cheerful laugh. Around the mainmast 
stands our gun-rack, and near by is a neat arrange- 
ment of McCormick's where every man has a peg for 
his fur coat, as we do not bring these things below, 
on account of the great change of temperature pro- 
ducing dampness in them. 

November 2d. 

The barometer, which yesterday sank to 29.58, has 
been steadily rising since, and stands now at 29.98, 
giving us thus a reasonable assurance that the gale will 
come to an end by and by, and let the travelers off! 
The gale has made wild work with the ice, breaking 
it up and driving it out to the southwest until the 
open water is within two miles of the schooner. The 
" twins " are right upon the margin of it, and, were 
they not aground, would float away. One of Sonn- 
tag's base-line stations has drifted off, and the bear- 
trap has followed after it, carrying away my fine ice- 
anchor. Strange, the loose ice has all drifted out of 



160 MR. JENSEN. 

sight, and not a speek is to be seen upon the unhappy 
waters which roll and tumble through the darkness 
around Cape Alexander. 

The temperature during this gale has been, through- 
out, very mild. Although the wind was northeast, it 
has not been below zero at any time. 

November 3d. 
The travelers are off at last, and at ten o'clock this 
evening they disappoint me by not returning. Since 
it is evident that they have gone around Cape Ohlsen, 
which I had some reason to doubt, I see no cause why 
they should not reach their destination. They will 
have, however, cracks which have been opened by the 
recent gales, and doubtless heavily hummocked ice, to 
contend with ; and I hardly know how Jensen will get 
on with this sort of traveling. Bad enough for those 
who are accustomed to it, it will be a sore trial to him. 
He is a splendid whip, and drives his dogs superbly 
when the ice is reasonably smooth, and the sledge 
glides glibly over it with the dogs at a gallop ; but this 
floundering through hummocks and deep snow-drifts, 
where the sledge has to be lifted and is often cajDsized, 
where the dogs are continually getting into a snarl, — 
their traces tangled, their tempers ruffled, and a gen- 
eral fight resulting, — is a very different sort of busi- 
ness, and is what he is not used to. To get through 
with it one requires an almost sujDerhuman stock of 
enduring patience ; and if Jensen returns from this 
journey with a good record, I shall have no fears for 
him in the future. He is a very strong and able- 
bodied man, standing six feet in his shoes, and is of 
powerful muscular build. The knowledge acquired 
by some eight years' residence in Greenland, of hunt- 



DOMESTIC FELICITY. 161 

ing, and of the Esquimau language, which he speaks 
Hke a native, and of the EngUsh which he has picked 
up from the British whale-ships, makes him one of the 
most useful members of my party. 

The men have been busy sewing up seal-skins into 
coats, pantaloons, and boots, to complete their winter 
wardrobe. They have tried very hard to get Mrs. 
Hans to do this work for them, but the indolent crea- 
ture persistently refuses to sew a stitch. She is the 
most obstinate of her sex ; feels perfectly independent 
of everj^ thing and of everybody ; pouts fiercely when 
she is not pleased, and gets the sulks about once a 
fortnight, when she declares most positively that she 
will abandon Hans and the white men forever, and go 
back to her own people. She once tried the experi- 
ment, and started off at a rapid rate, with her baby 
on her back, towards Cape Alexander. There had 
evidently been a domestic spat. Hans came out of 
his tent as if nothing had happened, and stood at 
the window leisurely smoking his pipe, and watching 
her in the most unconcerned manner in the world. 
As she tripped off south I called his attention to her. 

"Yes — me see." 

" Where is she going, Hans ? " 

"She no go. She come back — all right." 

" But she will freeze, Hans ? " 

" She no freeze. She come back by by, — you see." 

And he went on smoking his pipe with a quiet 
chuckle which told how well he understood the whims 
of his beloved. Two hours afterward she came back, 
sure enough, very meek and very cold, for the wind 
was blowing in her face. ' 

The day being Saturday, the sailors are busy by 

turns at the wash-tub, to have a clean turnout for 
u 



162 A CHEERFUL DAY. 

Sunday, on which day, even in this remote corner of 
the world, everybody puts on his best, and at Sunday 
morning muster my people present a very neat and 
creditable appearance. The gray uniform which I 
have adopted as a dress-suit is always worn on that 
occasion, both by officers and men. Each of&cer has 
a sailor for a " washerwoman," and I have mine ; and 
Knorr has just brought me in the most encouraging 
accounts of his skill, and as a proof of it I found on 
my table, when I came in out of the moonlight from 
a tramp to the open water, (where I had been making 
some observations for temperature,) a well-starched 
and neatly ironed cambric handkerchief, sprinkled 
with cologne. 

The day, for some reason or other, seems to have 
been peculiarly bright and cheerful to everybody, and 
the cheerfulness runs on into the evening. I fancy 
that our old cook Avas in a more than usually good 
humor, and doubtless this has had something to do 
with it. For my own part, I must acknowledge the 
power of his artistic skill as affecting the moral sen- 
timents. My walk to the open water was both cold 
and fatiguing. Desiring to get out as far as I could, 
I sprang over the loose ice-tables, and reached an 
iceberg near " The Twins," which I mounted ; and, 
after digging a hole into it, found that it had a tem- 
perature only 8° lower than the temperature of the 
water that floated it, which was 29°. I scrambled 
back to the fast ice as quickly as I could, for the tide 
and wind, which was strong from the land, looked 
very much as if they intended to carry the raft out 
to sea. 

To come back to the cook, — I was in a condition 
upon my return to do ample justice to a fillet of veni- 



JOHN WILLIAMS, THE COOK. 163 

son, garnished with currant-jelly, which was await- 
ing me, and upon the preparation of which the cook 
had evidently exhausted all his skill ; and afterward 
Knorr made for me, with my alcohol furnace, a cup 
of aromatic Mocha. 

And so one may find pleasure even where Bacchus 
and Cupid deign not to come. True, this is the re- 
gion into which Apollo voluntarily wandered after the 
decree' of Olympus made him an exile, and where the 
Hellenic poets dreamed of men living to an incredible 
age, in the enjoyment of all possible felicity ; but, to 
say the truth, I question the wisdom of the banished 
god, as tradition makes no mention of a schooner, and 
I find that in this " Residence of Boreas " one must 
look out for himself pretty sharply, — poets to the 
contrary, notwithstanding. 

The cook brought me the dinner himself " I tinks 
de Commander likes dis," said he, " coming from de 
cold." 

" Yes, cook, it is really superb. Now, what can I do 
for you ? " 

" Tank you, sar ! I tinks if de Commander would 
only be so kind as to give me a clean shirt, I shall be 
very tankful. He see dis one be very dirty, and I 
gets no time to vash him." 

" Certainly, cook, you shall have two." 

" Tank you, sar ! " — and he bends himself half 
double, meaning it for a bow, and goes back well 
pleased to his stove and his coppers. 

Our cook is quite a character. He is much the old- 
est man on board, and is the most singular mixture of 
adverse moral qualities that I have ever chanced to 
meet. He makes it his boast that he has never been 
off the ship's deck since leaving Boston. " Yat should 



164 A CHEERFUL EVENING. 

I go ashore for ? " said he, one day, to some of the offi- 
cers who were reciting to him the wonders of the land. 
"Me go ashore ! De land be very good place to grow 
de vegetables, but it no place to be. 1 never goes 
ashore ven I can help it, and please my Hebenly 
Fader I never vill." 

I have jDassed an hour of the evening very pleas- 
antly with the officers in their cabin, have had my 
usual game of chess with Knorr, and now, having 
done with this journal for the day, I will coil myself 
up in my nest of furs and read in Marco Polo of those 
parts of the world where people live without an effort, 
know not the use of bear-skins, and die of fever. 
After all, one's lines might fall in less pleasant places 
than in the midst of an Arctic winter. 




CHAPTER XIIT. 

[NCREASING DARKNESS. — DAILY KOUTINE. — THE JOURNAL. — OUR HOME. — 
SUNDAY. — RETURN OF SONNTAG. — A BEAR-HUNT. — THE OPEN WATER.— 
ACCIDENT TO MR. KNORR. — A THAW. — " THE PORT FOULKE WEEKLY 
NEWS.'' — THE TIDE-REGISTER. — THE FIRE-HOLE. — HUNTING FOXES. — 
PETER. 

The steadily increasing darkness was driving us 
more and more within doors. We had now scarcely 
any light but that of the moon and stars. The hunt 
was not wholly abandoned, but so few were the hours 
wherein we could see that it had become unprofitable. 
The gloom of night had settled in the valleys and had 
crept up the craggy hills. The darkness being fairly 
upon us, we had now little other concern than to live 
through it and await the spring, and a return to active 
life and the joerformance of those duties for which 
our voyage had been undertaken. As a part of the 
history of the expedition, I will continue to give from 
my diary our course of life. 

November oth. 

Our life has worked itself into a very systematic rou- 
tine. Our habits during the sunlight were naturally 
somewhat irregular, but we have now subsided into 
absolute method. What a comfort it is to be relieved 
of responsibility ! How kind it is of the clock to tell 
. us what to do ! The ship's bell follows it through the 
hours, and we count its shrill sounds and thereby 
know precisely how to act. The bell tells us when it 
Is half-past seven in the morning, and then we " turn 



166 DAILY ROUTINE. 

out." An hour later we breakfast, and at one o'clock 
we lunch. We dine at six, and at eleven we put out 
the lights and " turn in," — that is, everybody but the 
writer of this journal and the "watch." After dinner 
I usually join the officers at a game of whist, or in 
my own cabin have a game of chess with Sonntag or 
Knorr. One day differs very little from another day. 
Radcliffe shows me the record of the weather when 
he has made it up, in the evening ; and it is almost as 
monotonous as the form of its presentation. The 
daily report of ship's duties I have from McCormick, 
but that does not present any thing that is peculiarly 
enlivening. I make a note of what is passing, 'in this 
voluminous journal, — partly for use, partly from 
habit, and partly for occupation. The readings of the 
magnetometer and the barometers and thermometers, 
and the tide-register, and of the growth of the ice, 
and all such like useful knowledge, find a place on 
these pages ; but novelties are rare, and when they 
do come I set opposite to them marginal notes, that I 
may pick them out from time to time as one does a 
happy event from the memory. 

The ship's duties go on thus : — After breakfast the 
men " turn to " under the direction of Dodge, and 
clear up the decks and polish and fill the lamps • and 
a detail is made to go out to the iceberg for our daily 
supply of water. Then the fire-hole is looked after, 
the dogs are fed, the allowance of coal for the day is 
measured out, the store-room is unlocked and the ra- 
tions are served ; and before lunch-time comes round 
the labors of the day are done. After lunch we take 
a walk for exercise, and I make it a rule that every 
one who has not been at work two hours must spend 
at least that much time in walking for his health. 



OUR HOME. 167 

For my own part I take an almost daily drive 
around the bay or a stroll over the hills or out upon 
the frozen sea. Sometimes I carry my rifle, hoping 
to shoot a deer or perhaps a bear, but usually I go 
unarmed and unaccompanied, except by a sprightly 
Newfoundland pup which rejoices in the name of Gen- 
eral. This little beast has shared with me my cabin 
since leaving Boston, and has always insisted upon 
the choicest place. We have got to be the best of 
friends. He knows perfectly well when the hour 
comes to go out after breakfast, and whines impa- 
tiently at the door; and when he sees me take my 
cap and mittens from their peg his happiness is com- 
plete. And the little fellow makes a most excellent 
companion. He does not bore me with senseless talk, 
but tries his best to make himself agreeable. If in 
the sober mood, he walks beside me with stately grav- 
ity ; but when not so inclined he rushes round in the 
wildest manner, — rolling himself in the snow, tossing 
the white flakes to the wind, and now and then tug- 
ging at my huge fur mittens or at the tail of my fur 
coat. Some time ago he fell down the hatch and 
broke his leg, and while this was healing I missed him 
greatly. There is excellent companionship in a sen- 
sible dog. 

I try as much as a reasonable regard for discipline 
will allow to cultivate the social relations and usages 
of home. True, we cannot get up a ball, and we lack 
the essential elements of a successful tea-party ; but 
we are not wholly deficient in those customs which, 
in the land where the loved ones are, take away so 
much of life's roughnesses. And these little formal ob- 
servances promote happiness and peace. There is no 
place in the world where habits of unrestrained famil- 



168 RETURN OF SONNTAG. 

iarity work so much mischief as in the crowded cabin 
of a little vessel, nor is there any place where true po- 
liteness is so great a blessing. In short, I try to make 
our winter abode as cheerful as possible ; and we shall 
need all the brightness we can get within these 
wooden walls, if we would not be overwhelmed with 
the darkness which is outside. I want my people 
always to feel that, from whatever hardship and expo- 
sure they may encounter, they can here find cheer- 
ful shelter from the storms, and repose from their 
fatigues. 

As far as possible, Sunday is observed as we would 
observe it at home. At ten o'clock, accompanied by 
the executive officer, I hold an inspection of every 
part of the vessel, and examine minutely into the 
health, habits, and comforts of the whole ship's com- 
pany ; and immediately afterward they all assemble 
in the officers' quarters, where I read to them a por- 
tion of the morning service ; and this is followed 
by a chapter from the good Book, which we all love 
alike, wherever we are. Sometimes I read one of 
Blair's fine sermons, and when meal time comes round 
we find it in our heart to ask a continuance of God's 
provident care ; and if expressed in few words, it is 
perhaps not the less felt. 

November 6th. 

The travelers have returned, and, as I feared, they 
have been unsuccessful. Sonntag has dined with me, 
and he has just finished the recital of the adventures 
of his party. 

The journey was a very difficult one. High hum- 
mocks, deep snov/-drifts, open cracks, severe winds 
were their embarrassments ; and these are obstacles 
not to be encountered without danger, fatigue, and 
frost-bites. 



A BEAR HUNT. 1G9 

They had much trouble in getting out of Hartstene 
Bay, the water coming ahuost in to the land-ice. 
Once outside, however, they had an easy run up the 
coast to Fog; Inlet, where one of the sledges broke 
down, and they came upon open cracks which they 
could not pass. After repairing the sledge as well as 
they were able, they turned their faces homeward. 
When a little way above Cape Hatherton, they struck 
the trail of a couple of bears ; and, giving chase, the 
animals were overtaken and captured. They proved 
to be a mother and her cub. 

Sonntag has given me a lively description of the 
cha»e. The bears were started from the marsrin of a 
ridge of hummocked ice where they had been sleep- 
ing ; and they made at once for the open cracks out- 
side, distant about four miles. As soon as the dogs 
discovered the trail, they dashed off upon it into the 
hummocks, without waiting to be directed by their 
drivers, and utterly ■ regardless of the safety of the 
sledges or of the persons seated upon them. The 
hummocks were very high, and the passages between 
them rough and tortuous. Had the bears kept to 
them they might have baffled pursuit; for the prog- 
ress of the sledges was much interrupted, and the 
track could not always be followed. But the ridge 
was not above a quarter of a mile in width, and the 
bears, striking directly across it, evidently preferred 
seeking safety beyond a crack, over which they could 
pass by swimming. 

The first plunge into the hummocks was rather 
exciting. Jensen's team led the way, and Hans, fol- 
lowing after, rushed up pell-mell alongside. Jensen's 
sledge was nearly capsized, and Sonntag rolled off in 
the snow ; but he was fortunate enough to catch the 



170 A BEAR HUNT. 

upstander, and with its aid to recover his seat. The 
tangled ice greatly retarded the impatient dogs, bring- 
ing them several times almost to a stand ; but their 
eagerness and their drivers' energy finally triumj^hed 
over all obstacles, and they emerged at length, after 
much serious embarrassment, upon a broad and almost 
level plain, where for the first time the game came in 
view. 

The delay of the sledges in the hummocks had al- 
lowed the bears to get the start of fully a mile, and it 
appeared probable that they would reach the water 
before they could be overtaken. The dogs seemed to 
be conscious of this danger, as well as the hunters, 
and they laid themselves down to the chase with all 
the wild instinct of their nature. Maddened by the 
detention and the prospect of the prey escaping them, 
the blood-thirsty pack swept across the plain like a 
whirlwind. Jensen and Hans encouraged their re- 
spective teams by all the arts known to the native 
hunter. The sledges fairly flew over the hard snow 
and bounced over the drifts and the occasional pieces 
of ice which projected above the otherwise generally 
smooth surface. 

It was a wild chase. The dogs manifested in their 
speed and cry all the impatience of a pack of hounds 
in view of the fox, with ten times their savageness. 
As they neared the game they seemed to Sonntag hke 
so many wolves closing upon a wounded buffalo. 

In less than a quarter of an hour the distance be- 
tween pursuers and pursued was lessened to a few 
hundred yards, and then they were not far from the 
water, — which to the one was safety, to the other de- 
feat. During all this time the old bear was kept back 
by the young one, which she was evidently unwilling 



A BEAR HUNT. 171 

to abandon. The poor beast was in agony. Her cries 
were piteous to hear. The httle one jogged on bj 
her side, frightened and anxious ; and, although it 
greatly retarded her progress, yet, in full view of the 
danger, she would not abandon it. Fear and mater- 
nal affection appeared alternately to govern her reso- 
lution ; but still she held firm to her dependent off- 
spring. One moment she would rush forward toward 
the open water, as if intent only upon her own safety, 
— then she would wheel round and push on the strug- 
gling cub with her snout ; and then again she would 
run beside it as if coaxingly encouraging it to greater 
speed. Meanwhile her enemies were rushing on and 
steadily nearing the game. The dogs, forgetting their 
own fatigue in the prospect of a speedy encounter, 
pressed harder and harder into their collars. The 
critical moment was rapidly approaching ; and, to add 
to the embarrassments of the bruin family, the little 
bear was giving out. 

At length the sledges were within fifty yards of the 
struggling animals. Leaning forward, each hunter 
now seized the end of the line which bound the traces 
together in one fastening, and slipped the knot. The 
sledges stopped, and the dogs, freed from the load 
which they had been dragging, bounded fiercely for 
their prey. The old bear heard the rush of her com- 
ing enemies, and, halting, squared herself to meet the 
assault, while the little one ran frightened round her, 
and then crouched for shelter between her leo;s. 

The old and experienced leader, Oosisoak, led the 
attack. Queen Arkadik was close beside him, and the 
other twenty wolfish beasts followed in order of their 
speed. The formidable front and defiant roar of the 
infuriated monster split the pack, and they passed to 



172 A BEAR HUNT. 

right and left. Only one dog faced her, and he, (a 
yoimg one,) with more courage than discretion, rushed 
at her throat. In a moment he was crushed beneath 
her huge paw. Oosisoak came in upon her flank, 
and Arkadik tore at her haunch, and the other doQ-s 
followed this prudent example. She turned upon Oosi- 
soak, and drove him from his hold ; but in this act the 
cub was uncovered. Quick as lightning Karsuk flew 
at its neck, and a slender yellow mongrel, that we call 
Schnapps, followed after ; but the little bear, imitating 
the example of its mother, prepared to do battle. 
Karsuk missed his grip, and Schnapps got tangled 
among its legs. The poor dog was soon doubled up 
with a blow in the side, and escaped yowling from 
the melee. Oosisoak was hard pressed, but his power- 
ful rival Erebus came to his relief, and led his fol- 
lowers upon the opposite flank, which concentrated 
onslaught turned the bear again in the direction of 
her cub in time to save it ; for it was now being 
pulled down and worried by Karsuk and his pack. 
For a moment disregarding her own tormenters, she 
threw herself upon the assailants of the cub, and to 
avoid her blows they quickly abandoned their hold 
and enabled her once more to draw the frightened 
though plucky little creature under her. She had 
come to the rescue at the critical moment, for the 
poor thing was weakened with the loss of blood, and 
was fairly exhausted with the fight. 

By this time Jensen and Hans had drawn their 
rifles from the sledge, and hastened on to the conflict. 
The dogs were so thick about the game that it was 
some time before they could shoot with safety. They 
both, however, succeeded at last in getting a fine 
chance at the old bear, and fired. One ball struck her 



A BEAR HUKT. 173 

in the mouth, and the other one in the shoulder ; but 
neither did much harm, and brought only a louder 
roar of pain and anger. 

The dogs, beaten off from their attack on the cub, 
now concentrated upon the mother, and the battle be- 
came more fierce than ever. The snow was covered 
with blood. A crimson stream poured from the old 
bear's mouth, and another trickled over the white hair 
from her shoulder. The little one was torn, and bleed- 
ing from many ugly wounds. One dog was stretched 
out crushed and almost lifeless, and another marked 
the spot, where his agony was expending itself in pite- 
ous cries, with many a red stain. 

Sonntag now came up with a fresh weapon. A well- 
directed volley from the three rifles brought her down 
upon her side, and the dogs rushed in upon her ; but 
though stunned and weakened by loss of blood, yet 
she was not mortally hurt ; and, recovering herself in 
an instant, she once more scattered the dogs and again 
sheltered her offspring. But the fate of the cub was 
already sealed. Exhausted by the fearful gashes and 
the throttlings which it had received from Karsuk 
and his followers, it sank expiring at its mother's feet. 
Seeing it fall, she forgot, for a moment, the dogs, in 
her affection, and, stooping down, licked its face. As 
if unwilling to believe it dead, she tried to coax it 
to rise and make a still further fight for life. But at 
length the truth seemed to dawn upon her, and now, 
apparently conscious that the cub no longer needed 
her protection, she turned upon her tormenters with 
redoubled fury, and tried to escape. Another dog 
was caught in the attack, and was flung howling to 
join the unlucky Schnapps. 

For the first time she now appeared to realize that 



174 THE OPEN WATER. 

she was beset with other enemies than the dogs. 
Hans's rifle had missed fire, and he was advancing; 
with a native sjDear to a hand-to-hand encounter. See- 
ing him approach, the infuriated monster cleared away 
the dogs with a vigorous dash, and charged him. He 
threw his weapon and wheeled in flight. The bear 
bounded after him, and in an instant more neither 
speed nor dogs could have saved him. Fortunately, 
Sonntag and Jensen had by this time reloaded their 
rifles, and, with well-directed shots, they stopped her 
mad career. A ball, penetrating the spine at the base 
of the skull, rolled her over on the blood-stained snow. 

The skins being removed, and a portion of the flesh 
of the young bear prepared for carrying home, the 
dogs were allowed to gorge themselves, and the party 
pitched their tent and camped. The next run brought 
them to the vessel. 

The frost has nipped Jensen a little on the nose, 
and Hans is touched on the cheeks ; but Sonntag has 
come off without a scratch. They have had a very 
hard journey. Every thing conspired against them ; 
and if they did not reach their destination, they are 
none the less entitled to great credit for their perse- 
vering efforts, continued as they were against such 
odds. 

The existence of this open water greatly puzzles 
me. No such phenomenon was witnessed in 1853-55 
from Van Rensselaer Harbor. Whether it extends 
across the Sound, or how far to the north or south, I 
am unable to judge. It is probably merely local, — 
dependent upon the currents and winds. 

November 7 th. 

The wind is blowing fiercely from the northeast, 




§F 






ACCIDENT TO MR. KNORR. 175 

and the temperature is 16° below zero. The effect of 
the gale has been to drive the ice away again from 
the outer bay, and we are once more within the sound 
of the roaring surf 

November 8th. 

The air having become somewhat more quiet, I 
walked out to-day to the open water. Knorr accom- 
panied me. The view from the margin of the ice was 
dark and fearful. Heavy mist-clouds hung over the 
sea. Loose ice-fields were drifting through the black- 
ness, crashing harshly against each other, and sending 
the spray gleaming into the moonlight. The icebergs 
stood out here and there in stern defiance of the jar- 
ring elements, while the tumbling seas struck the 
white foam far up their lofty sides ; and out of the 
gloom came a wail, as of 

" a thousand ghosts, 
Shrieking at once on the hollow wind." 

On our way back, Knorr, who has much skill in get- 
ting himself into trouble, failed in a spring as we 
were making our way over some loose floes, and he 
plumped bodily into the sea. The accident was not 
less dangerous than disagreeable ; for after I had 
dragged him out of the water there were almost two 
miles between us and tl>e schooner. Fortunately he 
arrived on board after a vigorous run with nothing 
worse than a frozen foot, which did not, however, re- 
sult in any inconvenience greater than the pain, since 
my former experience readily suggested the proper 
remedies. The frozen member was first placed in ice- 
cold water, the temperature of which was slowly in- 
creased from hour to hour until the flesh was com- 
pletely thawed out. There was no resulting inflam- 
mation, and the foot came from the bath without 
even a blister. 



176 A THAW. 

November 10th. 

We are in the midst of a regular thaw, — a thaw 
in November under the Pole Star, — truly a strange 
event to chronicle. The temperature has gone up to 
11° above zero. 

The cold of the last month has frescoed the house 
on deck with delicate frost, — the condensed moisture 
that escapes from below. In many places this frost is 
two inches thick, and now it is melting. The water 
drops upon the deck, and every thing thereon is soaked. 
We have reduced the fires and opened the windows. 

November 11th. 

The temperature continues to rise, and the thaw 
goes on. A regular shower falls upon the deck. 
There is a huge puddle amidships, and the drip, drip, 
drip is any thing, but agreeable. 

My journal is looking up, — two novelties in one 
day. First a thaw, and then a newspaper. The free 
press follows the flag all over the world, and the North 
Pole rejoices in " The Port Foulke Weekly News." 

During the past week everj'body has been much in- 
terested in a newspaper enterprise, bearing the above 
title. Thinking to create a diversion that would con- 
found our enemy, the darkness, I proposed some time 
ago to the officers that we should publish a weekly 
paper, offering at the same time my assistance. The 
proposition was hailed with pleasure, and my fullest 
anticipations are more than realized. Mr. Dodge and 
Mr. Knorr undertook to act as editors, at least for the 
first week, and they have busied themselves gathermg 
from cabin and forecastle whatever was likely to prove 
attractive, and right good success have they met with. 
The first number appeared to-day, and it contains 



"THE PORT FOULKE WEEKLY NEWS." 177 

some things that are "rich and rare," and very clever, 
and many of the best came from the forward part of 
the ship. 

Its appearance makes quite an event, and, as a 
hygienic agent, its importance cannot be too highly 
estimated. The project set everybody on tip-toe of 
expectation, and for several days past very little else 
has been talked about but " the paper." All the de- 
tails of its getting-up have been conducted with a 
most farcical adherence to the customs prevailing at 
home. There is a regular corps of editors and report- 
ers, an office for " general news," an " editorial depart- 
ment," and a " telegraph station," where information 
is supposed to be received from all quarters of the 
world, and the relations existing between the sun, 
moon, and stars are duly reported by " reliable corre- 
spondents/' and pictorial representations of extraordi- 
nary occurrences are also received from " our artist 
on the spot." 

Of course, much depended upon the eclat with which 
it burst into being ; and, conscious of this important 
fact, the editors spared no pains to heighten public 
curiosity, by the issuing of " hand-bills " and " posters," 
and all other means known among the caterers for 
the popular intellectual palate. McCormick lent his 
assistance, and directed the preparation of a somewhat 
better dinner than usual ; so that, no matter what 
might be the merits of this eagerly expected prod- 
igy, it was sure of a hearty reception. Mr. Knorr 
had charged himself with the mechanical execution, 
and was known to have the infant periodical in his 
keeping ; and accordingly, after the cloth was re- 
moved, loud calls were made for its production. 
While he was hauling it out from under his pillow, 

12 



178 "THE PORT FOULKE WEEKLY InTEWS." 

(where it had been carefully stowed out of sight until 
the auspicious moment should arrive,) demands were 
made upon him to read it aloud. This he was about 
to do when some one claimed that so important an 
event should not pass off so informally. "Agreeably 
to national usage, we should call a meeting, organize 
it by the appointment of the proper officers, and name 
an orator for the occasion. Then, and not until then, 
can it be said that we have properly inaugurated the 
important event which has transjDired. The pubhc of 
Port Foulke will not rest content with any less con- 
spicuous mark of glorification over so momentous an 
occurrence as the establishment of a free press on this 
remote frontier of civilization." 

To this proposal no objection was made, — indeed, it 
was received with much favor ; and the meeting was 
accordingly organized by unanimously calling Mr. 
Sonntag to the " chair." After naming the requisite 
number of vice-presidents and secretaries, Mr. Knorr 
was selected orator by acclamation. And now there 
commenced a violent clapping of hands and a rattling 
of tin cups, mingled with cries of " order " and " hear, 
hear ! " in the midst of which the orator mounted the 
locker and addressed his auditors as follows : — 

" Fellow-citizens : — Called by the unanimous voice 
of this unenlightened community to inaugurate the 
new era which has dawned upon a benighted region, 
it is my happy privilege to announce that we have, at 
the cost of much time, labor, and means, supplied a want 
which has too long been felt by the people of Port 
Foulke. We are, fellow-citizens, no longer without 
that inalienable birthright of every American citizen, 
— a Free Press and an Exponent of Public Opinion. 

" Overcome with the gravity of my situation, I find 



" THE PORT FOULKE WEEKLY NEWS." 179 

myself unable to make you a speech befitting the so- 
lemnity and importance of the occasion. It is proper? 
however, that I should state, in behalf of myself and 
my Bohemian brother, that, in observance of a time- 
honored custom, we will keep our opinions for our- 
selves and our arguments for the public. The inhab- 
itants of Port Foulke desire the speedy return of the 
Sun. We will advocate and urge it. They wish for 
Light. We will address ourselves to the Celestial Orbs, 
and point out the opportunities for reciprocity. They 
are in search of happiness. We will, in pursuance of 
that same time-honored custom, (which I may say has 
made the press a power, sir, in this great and glorious 
nineteenth century) — we will, I say, at all times 
freely counsel them to the observance of both public 
and private virtue. 

, " Fellow-citizens : — This is a memorable epoch in 
the history of Port Foulke. We are informed that its 
aboriginal name is Annyeiqueipablaitah, which means, 
after it is pronounced, 'The Place of the Howling 
Winds.' On this public occasion it is proper that we 
should direct our thoughts to the future, especially to 
our sublime 'mission.' This * Place of the Howling 
Winds,' you wall observe, fellow-citizens, is on the re- 
motest confines of our wide-spread country, — a coun- 
try, fellow-citizens, whose vast sides are bathed by the 
illimitable ocean, and which stretches from the rising 
of the sun to the setting thereof, and from the Aurora 
Borealis to the Southern Cross. But why do I say 
the Aurora Borealis, fellow-citizens? Have we not 
left that vague border of the national domain far be- 
hind us ? Yes. fellow-citizens ! and it now devolves 
upon us to bring the vexed question of national bound- 
aries, which has been opened by our enterprise, to a 



180 " THE PORT FOULKE WEEKLY I^EWS." 

point — to a point, sir ! We must carry it to the very 
Pole itself! — and there, sir, we will nail the Stars and 
Stripes, and our flag-staff will become the spindle of 
the world, and the Universal Yankee Nation will go 
whirling round it like a top. 

" Fellow-citizens and friends : — In conclusion allow 
me to propose a sentiment befitting the occasion, — A 
Free Press and the Universal Yankee Nation : May 
the former continue in times to come, as in times gone 
by, the handmaiden of Liberty and the emblem of 
Progress ; ' and may the latter absorb all Creation and 
become the grand Celestial Whirligig." 

The youthful orator sat down amidst what the press 
would very properly designate as " tumultuous ap- 
plause." He had evidently made a favorable impres- 
sion as well in behalf of himself as of his paper, and 
we were all the more eag;er than ever for the readino-. 
After the rattling of the tin cups had subsided, the 
reading began, and it was not interrupted except by 
those marks of approbation in which men are always 
apt to indulge when possessed of a satisfactory dinner, 
and are listening afterward to good stories. The only 
regret expressed was that it should come so quickly 
to an end. The expressions of approval were univer- 
sal, a vote of thanks was bestowed upon the editors, 
the orator was, toasted, and the occasion wound up in 
a very lively manner. Having but one copy of the 
paper, this was handed over to the sailors as soon as 
Knorr had finished reading it in the cabin, and the 
marks of approbation were equally reassuring from 
that quarter. It contains sixteen pages of closely 
written matter, a somewhat ambitious picture of our 
winter harbor, a portrait of Sir John Franklin, and a 
spirited likeness of the General, with his wounded paw 



"THE PORT FOULKE WEEKLY NEWS." 181 

in a sling. There is a fair sprinkling of " enigmas/' 
"original jokes," "items of domestic and foreign in- 
telligence," " personals/' " advertisements/' &c., &c., 
among a larger allowance of more pretentious effu- 
sions. Among these latter there is an illustrated 
prospectus by the senior editor, a poem by the stew- 
ard, and a song which is addressed to the General. 
This last the men are now singing, and they seem to 
take special delight in the chorus, which runs thus: — 

" Hang up the harness and the wliip, 
Put up the sledge on the ship ; 
There 's no more work for poor Gen-e-ral, 
' For he 's going for his wind for to slip." 

I am sorry to say that the prophecy therein con- 
tained is likely to prove true, for the General is very 
sick. Poor fellow ! he hears every word of this un- 
pitying merriment over his misfortunes, and, could he 
speak, I have no doubt that he would sigh with Gray's 

cat, — 

" Alas ! — 
A favorite has no friends ! " 

However, there is a verse coming, to which he is lis- 
tening attentively, and the very tears mount to his 
eyes with, this unexpected mark of sympathy. For 
his sake I give it a place here : — 

" Sad times there will be when the General slips his wind, 
And is gathered to his fathers down below ; 
And is gone far away with his broken leg and all, 
And is buried underneath the cold snow." 

November 12th. 

The temperature has gone down within 4° of zero, 
but there is still much slush and dampness. The snow 
lying next the ice is filled with water, a circumstance 
which it is difficult to explain, since the temperature 



182 THE TIDE-REGISTER. 

has not, at any time, reached the freezing point, and 
the ice on which the snow rests is over three feet 
thick. There would appear to be a sort of an osmotic 
action taking place. Snow is now beginning to fall, 
and, as usual, it is very light and beautifully and reg- 
ularly crystalized. The depth of snow which has 
fallen up to this time is 15| inches. 

November IStli. 

Worse and worse. The temperature has risen again, 
and the roof over the upper deck gives us once more 
a worse than tropic shower. The snow next the ice 
grows more slushy, and this I am more than ever puz- 
zled to understand, since I have found to-day that the 
ice, two feet below the surface, has a temperature of 
20°; at the surface it is 19°, and the snow^ in contact 
with it is 18°. The water is 29°. 

The darkness is not yet quite absolute. With some 
difficulty I can still see to read ordinary print at noon. 

November 14th. 

The wind has been blowing for nearly twenty-four 
hours from the northeast, and yet the temperature 
holds on as before. At 10 o'clock this evening it was 
4|°. I have done with speculation. A warm wind 
from the mer de glace, and this boundless reservoir of 
Greenland frost, makes mischief with my theories, as 
facts have heretofore done with the theories of wiser 
men. As long as the wind came from the sea I could 
find some excuse for the unseasonable warmth. 

I have rigged a new tide-register to-day, with the 
aid of McCormick, my man of all ingenious work. If 
it prove as effective as it is simple, I shall have a good 
registry of the Port Foulke tides. It is but a light 



THE FIRE-HOLE. 183 

rope, to one end of which is attached a heavy stone 
that rests firmly on the bottom of the sea. The rope 
comes up through the fire-hole, and passes over a pul- 
ley and down again into the water, having at this last 
end a ten-pound leaden weight. The pulley is at- 
tached to an oar which is supported upon two pillars 
made with blocks of ice. Two feet below the oar, and 
in close contact wdth the rope, there is an iron rod, 
and, the rope being divided into feet and tenths of a 
foot by little strings having " knots," the stage of the 
tide is read with the aid of a bull's-eye lantern, as the 
rod passes the strings. The only drawback is the 
difficulty in keeping the rope from '' fouling " wdth 
the ice, as it will do if the fira-hole is not cleared at 
least four times an hour. 

The fire-hole needs no description further than the 
mere mention of its name. In the event of fire oc- 
curring in the schooner, this hole is our only reliance 
for water ; and it is therefore carefully looked after. 
Thus far the watch has broken it out hourly. 

ISTovembei' I5tli. 
The wind has packed the snow again, and, the tem- 
perature having crawled down to zero, the dampness 
has almost disappeared. 

.1 have presented Hans with a new suit of clothes 
and a pair of my reddest flannel shirts, thinking by 
making him better off than Peter to quiet his jeal- 
ousy. If I have not succeeded in this, I have at least 
tickled his vanity, for he is a natural-born dandy, and 
no person on board is so fond of getting himself up 
as this same savage hunter. At Sunday inspection 
no one more delights to appear in gorgeous array. 
With the other Esquimaux he does not deign to asso- 



184 STUDIES AND OCCUPATIONS. 

ciate on terms of equality. To his finer clothes he 
doubtless attributes much of his personal importance ; 
— but such things are not confined to Esquimaux. 

November 16th. 
McCormick has established a school of navigation, 
and has three good pupils in Barnum, Charley, and 
McDonald. There is indeed quite a thirst for knowl- 
edge in that quarter known as " Mariner's Hall," and 
an excellent library, which we owe to the kindness of 
our Boston friends, is well used. In the cabin there 
is a quiet settlement into literary ease. Dodge has 
already consumed several boxes of " Littell's Living 
Age " and the " Westminster Beview." Knorr studies 
Danish, Jensen English, and Sonntag is wading through 
Esquimau, and, with his long, mathematical head, is 
conjuring up some incomprehensible compound of dif- 
ferential quantities. As for myself, there is no end to 
my occupations. The routine of our life causes me 
much concern and consumes much of my time. Per- 
haps I give myself needless anxiety about the affairs 
of my household, and charge myself uselessly with 
" that care which is the enemy of life," and which 
long ago disturbed the earthly career of the good old 
Mother Hubbard ; but then I find in it my chief sat- 
isfaction, and the leisure hours are filled up pleasantly 
enough with a book or a walk or this journal. On 
me the days of darkness have not yet begun to hang 
heavily, but I can see weariness in the future. 

November 17th. 

The temperature has fallen to 10° below zero, for 
which we are duly thankful. Again the air sparkles 
with cold, and a dead calm has let the frost cover the 



HUNTING FOXES. 185 

whole outer bay with ice, and the crystal plain ex- 
tends as far as the eye will carry over the Sound. 

The tide-register works quite well, but the young- 
sters complain bitterly of the trouble in keeping the 
fire-hole clear of ice, and of reading the ice-coated 
knots in the darkness. Starr slipped partly into the 
hole to-day, and nearly ruined the instrument by 
grasping it for support. The readings are generally 
quite accurate, but to guard against serious error I 
have my own way of making a check upon the ice- 
foot. We have to-day 9 feet 7 inches between ebb 
and flood. 

The poor foxes have become the innocent victims 
of a new excitement. They are very numerous, and 
the officers are after them with dead-falls, traps, and 
guns. Their skins are very fine and pretty, and make 
warm coats, although I do not jDcrceive that they 
are used for this purpose ; but they go instead into 
the very safest corners of their lockers. Doubtless 
" there 's a lady in the case." 

November 18th. 

A calm, cold, clear, quiet day, marked by no unu- 
sual event other than the appearance of the second 
number of "The News." Radcliffe brought it out, 
and there was another bright evening in this dark- 
ness-beleaguered schooner. 

November 19th. 

Our quiet life has been disturbed by a mysterious 
event. I have often mentioned in these pages the 
ludicrous rivalry which grew up between the two 
Esquimaux, Hans and Peter. Both have been useful, 
but their motives have been very different. One has 
shown, like Mr. Wemmick, a laudable desire to get 
hold of " portable property " by fair means ; the other 



186 A RUNAWAY. 

has been influenced by an envious disposition quite in- 
dependent of the value attached to his gains. He is 
a type of a branch of the human family who cannot 
view with calmness the prosperity of others. Whether 
this feeling in Hans stopped with the emotion, or 
whether it has expended itself in crime, remains to 
be seen. 

I was quietly reading on my lounge this morning 
at two o'clock, when the profound stillness was broken 
by footsteps in the companion-way. A moment after- 
ward the steward entered without the ceremony of 
knocking, and stood before me with an. atmosphere of 
alarm about him which seemed to forebode evil. 
While he w^as hesitating for speech, I inquired of him 
what on earth had brought him upon me at this hour. 
Was the ship on fire ? Without heeding my question, 
he exclaimed, — 

" Peter 's gone, sir ! " 

"Gone! Whereto?" 

" Gone ! Run away, sir ! " 

" Is that all ? " and I returned to my book, and 
bade him go back to his bed. 

" It 's so, sir ! He has run away, sir ! " 

And sure enough it was so. The earnestness of the 
steward's manner convinced me at leng-th that some- 
thing was wrong, and I immediately caused the shijD 
to be searched. But Peter was nowhere to be found. 
His hammock had not been disturbed since it had 
been taken down yesterday morning, and he was evi- 
dently not in the vessel. 

All hands were called, and, wdiile I interrogated the 
sailors, Jensen obtained what information he could 
from the Esquimaux. Peter had been on board all 
the ■ evening, had messed with the men, had smoked 



SEARCH FOR THE FUGITIVE. 187 

his pipe and drank his coffee as usual, and he appeared 
to be very happy and well contented. I was greatly 
puzzled to account for his absence. There being no 
moon, it seemed impossible that he should have vol- 
untarily gone far from the vessel, and it appeared 
very unlikely that he would remain long absent un- 
less some accident had overtaken him. But the vasj-ue 
and unsatisfactory answers given by Hans were calcu- 
lated to arouse suspicion. Hans at last hinted that 
Peter was afraid of the men ; but tliis was all that I 
could get out of him. The men declare that he has 
always been a great pet with them, and I cannot learn 
that in any instance he has been unkindly treated. 

While all this cross-questioning was going on, the 
lamps were being prepared for a search. The peojDle 
were divided into seven squads, and their lights were 
soon seen flickering over the harbor. Two hours 
elapsed, and I had begun to doubt if we should make 
any discovery, when a signal came from McCormick, 
who had found fresh tracks on the south side of the 
harbor, and, at about two and a half miles from the 
schooner, he had followed them across the broken 
land-ice, and thence up the steep hill. At the foot of 
the hill a small bag, containing a few articles of cloth- 
ing, was picked up, and these were quickly recognized 
as Peter's property. There was no longer any doubt 
as to the fact that the steward was right. Peter had 
surely run away. But what could possibly be the 
motive ? Where had he run to ? and what had he 
run for ? 

There being clearly no object in following the trail, 
we returned on board, very much bewildered. Nobody 
knew any thing about it. Marcus and Jacob declare 
absolute ignorance, and Hans possesses no other infor- 



188 A FEUITLESS SEARCH. 

ination than what he has already communicated. But 
nevertheless, I cannot disabuse my mind of the im- 
pression that Hans is really at the bottom of this bad 
business ; and I have dismissed him from my cabin 
with the assurance that if I find him guilty of treach- 
ery toward Peter I will hang him to the yard-arm with- 
out hesitation. This he is quite competent to under- 
stand, and he declares that he will follow up Peter's 
tracks and bring the unhappy boy on board. Here, 
for the present, this painful episode in our quiet life 
must rest. 

November 20th. 

Hans, accompanied by one of the sailors, has been 
out for several hours trying to follow Peter's trail ; 
but a strong wind had drifted the snow, and not a ves- 
tige of his footsteps remained. Hans came back evi- 
dently a little doubtful as to his fate ; but he looked 
the picture of innocence itself, and did not appear to 
have upon his mind any other thought than that of 
sorrow for Peter's unhappy condition. 

Where has the fugitive gone ? Is he trying to 
reach the Whale Sound Esquimaux ? From Hans's 
account, there are probably none nearer than North- 
umberland Island, a hundred miles away ; and perhaps 
the nearest may be still fifty miles further, on the south 
side of the Sound. Possibly some hunters may tem- 
porarily reside on the north side, in which case only is 
there any chance of safety to the fugitive, should his 
purpose lie in that direction. It is not at all improb- 
able that Hans has told him positively that Esquimaux 
are living at Sorfalik, which is not above thirty miles 
distant, and which place might be readily reached by 
him, but, without dogs, the journey further south is 
impracticable. It may be, however, that Hans is en- 



PETER STILL ABSENT. 189 

tirely innocent of all concern in this mysterious busi- 
ness, and that it is, as Mr. Sonntag thinks, merely an 
Esquimau whim, and that Peter, provoked at some 
slight put upon him by one of the crew, has gone off 
to cool his anger at Etah or in a snow hut. That 
Hans is guilty seems to be the general belief; and it 
is very easy to suppose that he has given Peter to un- 
derstand that the friendly acts of the sailors only cov- 
ered a hostile purpose ; that he knew this because he 
understood English and overheard their conversation, 
and has thus induced the poor fellow to fly in precipi- 
tate haste from an imaginary danger. And this is the 
less difficult to understand, that it would be quite in 
keeping with Esquimau usage. With them, nothing is 
more likely to excite suspicion of treachery than unu- 
sual friendliness, and it is not at all improbable that 
Hans has first coined a lie, and. then, by judiciously 
fanning the kindling flame with other lies and myste- 
rious hints, he has been at last able to effect a grand 
coup, and drive the poor inoffensive lad into the dark- 
ness to seek safety at Sorfalik. Maddened with the 
threatening danger, he is ready for any thing, — seizes 
his bag and flies. Seeing our lights on the harbor, 
he has dropped his bag and hastened his retreating 
steps. Under this head I can now understand the 
m.eaning of what Jensen told me some days ago, that 
"they have made friends." 

November 23d. 

Five days have elapsed, and still Peter does not re- 
turn. I have sent to the hut at Etah, but he has not 
been there, nor can any traces of him be discovered 
in the quarters of our cached deer meat. Meanwhile 
much snow has fallen, and a fierce gale, in which no 
one could live long without shelter, has been raging. 



190 DRIFTmG SNOW. 

I have had my usual walk, notwithstanding the 
storm. My furs are now thrown off, and faithful 
old Carl is beating the snow out of them. It was 
pounded in by the force of the wind to the very skin, 
and I was one mass of whiteness. Beard and face 
were covered, as well as my clothing, and I was not 
in appearance unlike what I used to imagine Kriss 
Kringle might be when, " in the days of other years," 
I fancied him to be making his annual tour of the 
house-tops. 

And my walk has been one of some hardship. I 
ventured too far out on the sea, and, miscalculating 
the force of the wind, I found, when I had to face it 
on my return, that I had before me a somewhat seri- 
ous task. In the distance I could faintly distinguish 
the ship's light, and as blast after blast lashed my face 
with snow, seemingly in malicious spite, and each time 
with greater fury, I must confess that I more than 
once wished myself well out of the scrape. 

In truth, I was in some danger. The frost touched 
my cheeks, and, indeed, I should have had no face left 
had I not repeatedly turned my back to the wind and 
revived the frosted flesh Avith my unmittened hand. 

But now that I have got snugly stowed away in 
warmth, I am far from sorry for the adventure. My 
motive in going out was to get a full view of the 
storm. The snow which has lately fallen is very 
deep, and the wind, picking it up from hill-side and 
valley, seemed to fill the whole atmosphere with a vol- 
ume of flying whiteness. It streamed over the moun- 
tains, and gleamed like witches' hair along their sum- 
mits. Great clouds rushed frantically down the slopes, 
and spun over the cliffs in graceful forms of fantastic 
lightness, and thence whirled out over the frozen sea, 



COURAGE. 191 

glimmering in the moonbeams. The fierce wind-gusts 
brought a vast sheet of it from the terraces, which, 
after bounding over the schooner and ratthng through 
the rigging, flew out over the icy plain, wound coldly 
around the icebergs which studded its surface, and, 
dancing and skipping past me like cloud-born phan- 
toms of the night, flew out into the distant black- 
ness, mingling unearthly voices with the roar of 
booming waves. 

And as I think of this wild, wild scene, my thoughts 
are in the midst of it with my servant Peter. The 
stiffened ropes which pound against the masts, the 
wind shrieking through the shrouds, the crashing of 
the snows against the schooner's sides, are sounds of 
terror echoing through the night ; and when I think 
that this unhappy boy is a prey to the piercing gale, 
I find myself inquiring continually, What could pos- 
sibly have been the motive which led him thus to 
expose himself to its fury ? 

After all, what is that which we call courage ? This 
poor savage, who would not hesitate to attack single- 
handed the fierce polar bear, who has now voluntarily 
faced a danger than which none could be more dread- 
ful, fleeing out into the darkness, over the mountains 
and glaciers, and through snow-drifts and storms, pur- 
sued by fear, lacks the resolution to face an imaginary 
harm from his fellow-men. It seems, indeed, to be a 
peculiarity of uninstructed minds to dread man's an- 
ger and man's treachery more than all other evils, — 
whether of wild beast or storm or pestilence. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

MIDWINTER. —THE NIGHT OF MONTHS. — BRILLIANCY OF THE MOONLIGHT.— 
MILD TEMPERATURES. —REMARKABLE WEATHER. — A SHOWER. — DEPTH OF 
SNOW. — SNOW CRYSTALS. — AN EPIDEMIC AMONG THE DOGS. — SYMPTOMS 
OF THE DISORDER —GREAT MORTALITY. — ONLY ONE TEAM LEFT.— NEW 
PLANS. — SCHEMES FOR REACHING THE ESQUIMAUX IN WHALE SOUND. 

The reader who has followed mj diary since we 
entered Port Foulke will have noticed how gradually 
the daylight vanished, and with what slow" and meas- 
ured step the darkness came upon us. As November 
approached its close, the last glimmer of twilight dis- 
appeared. The stars shone at all hours with equal 
brilliancy. From a summer which had no night we 
had passed into a winter which had no day, through 
an autumn twilight. In this strange ordering of Na- 
ture there is something awe-inspiring and unreal. 

We all knew from our school-boy days that, at the 
poles of the earth there is but one day and one night 
in the year ; but, when brought face to face with the 
reality, it is hard to realize. And it is harder still to 
get used to. If the constant sunshine of the summer 
disturbed our life-long habits, the continual darkness 
of, the winter did more. In the one case the imagi- 
nation was excited by the ever-present light, inspiring 
action ; in the other, a night of months threw a cloud 
over the intellect and dwarfed the energies. 

To this prolonged darkness the moon gives some 
relief From its rising to its setting it shines contin- 
ally, circling around the horizon, never setting until 



MIDWINTER. 193 

it has run its ten clays' course of brightness. And it 
shines with a brilUancy which one will hardly observe 
elsewhere. The uniform whitieness of the landscape 
and the general clearness of the atmosphere add to 
the illumination of its rays, and one may see to read 
by its light with ease, and the natives often use it as 
they do the sun, to guide their nomadic life and to 
lead them to their hunting-grounds. 

The days and weeks of midwinter passed slowly 
away. Our experience up to this period was in many 
respects remarkable. Although sheltered by high 
lands, we were nevertheless exposed to severe and 
almost constant northeast winds ; and although shut 
up in polar darkness, and hemmed in by polar ice, an 
open sea had thus far been within sight of us all the 
time, and the angry waves were often a threatening 
terror. Many times we had thought ourselves in dan- 
ger of being cast adrift with the ice, and carried out 
to sea in a helpless condition. 

The temperature had been strangely mild, a cir- 
cumstance at least in part accounted for by the open 
water, and to this same cause was no doubt due the 
great disturbance of the air, and the frequency of the 
gales. I have mentioned in the last chapter a very 
remarkable rise in the thermometer which occurred 
early in November ; but a still greater elevation of 
temperature followed a few weeks later, reaching as 
high as 32°, and sinking back to 15° below zero almost 
as suddenly as it had risen. In consequence of this 
extraordinary and unaccountable event, the thaw was 
renewed, and our former discomfort arising from the 
dampness on the deck and in our quarters was expe- 
rienced in an aggravated degree. During two days 
(November 28th and 29th) we could use no other fire 

13 



194 SKOW CEYSTALS. 

than what was necessary for the preparation of our 
meals, and for melting our necessary supply of water. 
To add to our astonishment, a heavy fall of snow was 
followed by a shower of rain, a circumstance which I 
had not previously witnessed in this latitude except 
in the months of July and August, and then scarcely 
more rain fell than on the present occasion. The 
depth of snow precipitated during this period was 
likewise remarkable, — the aggregate being 32 inches. 
In one single day 19 inches were deposited, greater 
by 5 inches than the entire accumlations of the win- 
ter of 1853-54 at Van Eensselaer Harbor. The total 
amount of snow which had fallen up to the first of 
December was 48 inches. Being so far north of the 
line of maximum snows, I was the more surprised, as 
my former experience appeared to have shown that 
the region of Smith's Sound was almost wholly free 
from nubilous deposits. 

I was much interested at this warm period in ob- 
serving how singularly perfect and beautiful were the 
snow crystals ; and it is a somewhat singular circum- 
stance that the perfect crystals are only exhibited 
when the snow falls in a temperature comparatively 
mild. I have not observed them when the thermom- 
eter ranged below zero. The snow is then quite dry 
and hard, and does not exhibit those soft, thin, trans- 
parent flakes of the warmer air. With the aid of a 
magnifying glass, I was enabled to obtain very accu- 
rate sketches of a large number of them. Their form 
was always hexagonal, but the rays were very various 
in their development, although they all possessed the 
same radical foundation. The most perfect and full 
suggested a diminutive fern leaf 

As we neared the climax of the winter the satisfac- 



AJ^ EPIDEMIC AMONG THE DOGS. 195 

tory progress of events became disturbed by a series 
of misfortunes which largely influenced the destinies 
of the expedition, and which, by disarranging all of 
my plans, caused me grave embarrassments. 

In a former chapter I have mentioned that a disease 
had been, for several years, prevailing among the dogs 
of Southern Greenland, and that a large proportion 
of these useful animals had fallen victims to it. The 
cause of this disease had not been determined, but I 
was led to believe, from what information I could 
obtain, that it was purely of local origin, and that, 
therefore, when I had removed my teams from the 
seat of its influence I would be freed from its dangers. 
Under this impression I had consumed much time at 
the Danish-Esquimau settlements, in picking up here 
and there a dog, until I had obtained thirty-six ani- 
mals. Up to the first of December they remained 
in perfect health ; and, being fed upon an abundant 
allowance of fresh meat, I had great confidence that I 
should be able to carry them through to the spring, 
and, when the jDcriod of my sledge explorations should 
arrive, that I would have four strong and serviceable 
teams. My fears were for a time somewhat excited 
by the information received from Hans, that the Es- 
quimaux of Whale Sound and vicinity, with whom he 
had been living, were heavy losers by the death of a 
great number of their dogs, and the description which 
he gave of this distemper corresponded with that of 
Southern Greenland ; but November being passed 
without any symptoms of the malady having made 
its appearance in my splendid pack, I felt hopeful that 
they would escape the visitation. The loss which 
Dr. Kane had suffered by the death of his teams was 
fresh in my recollection ; but for this there appeared 



196 AN EPIDEMIC AMONG THE DOGS. 

to be a sufficient cause. Being almost wholly with- 
out fresh food of any kind," he was compelled to sub- 
sist his teams upon salt meats, which, giving scurvy 
to his men, could hardly be expected to act otherwise 
than injuriously upon the dogs, w^hich had always be- 
fore been used to a fresh diet of seal meat. 

My hopeful anticipations were, however, not real- 
ized. One day early in December Jensen reported to 
me that one of the finest animals had been attacked 
with the disease, and recommended that it should be 
shot, to prevent the disease spreading ; and this was 
accordingly done. A few hours afterwards another 
one was seized in the same manner. The symptoms 
were at first those of great restlessness. The animal 
ran several times around the ship, first one way and 
then the other, with a vague uncertainty in its gait, 
and with an alternate raising and lowering of the 
head and tail, every movement indicative of great 
nervous excitement. After a while it started off 
toward the mouth of the harbor, barking all the while 
and seeming to be in mortal dread of some imaginary 
object from which it was endeavoring to fly. In a 
little while it came back, still more excited than be- 
fore. These symptoms rapidly increased in violence, 
the eyes became bloodshot, froth ran from the mouth, 
and the dog became possessed of an apparently uncon- 
trollable desire to snap at every thing which came in 
its way. 

The disease ran its course in a few hours. Weak- 
ness and prostration followed the excitement, and the 
poor animal staggered around the vessel, apparently 
unable to see its way, and finally fell over in a fit. 
After struggling for a little while in the snow, con- 
sciousness returned, and it got again upon its feet. 



GREAT MORTALITY OF DOGS. 197 

A.nother fit followed soon afterward ; and then they 
came one after another in rapid succession, until finally 
its misery was relieved by death, which occurred in 
less than twenty-four hours from the incipience of the 
attack. Meanwhile I had watched it closely, hoping 
to discover some clew to the cause, and to establish a 
cure. But I could obtain no light whatever. Dissec- 
tion revealed nothing. There was no apparent inflam- 
mation either of the brain, the nerve centres, the spi- 
nal cord, or the nerves themselves ; and I was wholly 
at a loss to understand the strange phenomenon. That 
it was not hydrophobia was shown by the fact that 
the animal rather desired than shunned water. Many 
of the symptoms attending that disease were, how- 
ever, manifested- but it did not, like hydrophobia, 
appear to be communicated by the bite ; for those 
dogs which happened to be bitten were not more 
speedily attacked than the others. 

This case had scarcely reached its fatal termina- 
tion before another was reported, and it was relieved 
of its misery by a bullet. Seven died during four 
days, and I saw with consternation my fine teams 
melting away and my hopes endangered • and while 
this was in progress I could only look on and wonder 
and experiment, but could never stop the contagion 
nor arrest the evil. 

Among the first dogs attacked was a superb beast 
that I have before named. He was the best draught 
animal of my best team, the second leader, — Karsuk. 
I have never seen such expression of ferocity and mad 
strength exhibited by any living creature, as he man- 
ifested two hours after the first symptoms were ob- 
served. Thinking that confinement might do good, 
and desiring to see if the disease would not wear itself 



198 ONLY ONE TEAM LEFT. 

out, I had him caught and put into a large box on the 
deck ; but this seemed rather to aggravate than to 
soothe the violence of the symptoms. He tore the 
boards with indescribable fierceness, and, getting his 
teeth into a crack, rip^^ed off splinter after splinter 
until he had made a hole almost large enough for his 
head, when I ordered him to be shot. At this mo- 
ment his eyes were like balls of fire ; he had broken 
off one of his tusks, and his mouth was spouting blood. 
Soon afterward another fine animal, which seemed to 
be perfectly well a few moments before, suddenly 
sprang up, dashed off with a wild yell, wheeled round 
the harbor, returned to the vessel, and there fell strug- 
gling in a fit. I had him tied, but he tore himself 
loose, and, fearful for the other dogs, he too was killed. 
Three others died the same day, and the deaths during 
the first two weeks of December were eighteen. This, 
with the losses before sustained, left me with only 
twelve animals. One week later these were reduced 
to nine. 

The serious nature of this disaster will perhaps not 
at first be apparent to the reader. It will be remem- 
bered, however, that my plans of exploration for the 
coming spring were mainly based upon dogs as a 
means of transportation across the ice ; and now that 
my teams were so much reduced (and it seemed, in- 
deed, likely that they would all die) it became very 
evident that, unless I should be able to supply the 
loss, all of my plans would be rendered abortive. 

My anxiety was fully shared by Mr. Sonntag. 
Having failed in all of our efforts to arrest the fatal 
tendency of the malady, we could only occupy our- 
selves with devising ways and means for remedjdng, 
in some degree, the evil, or to arrange new plans in 
conformity with our changed circumstances. 



PLAINS FOR OBTAINING DOGS. 199 

The first expedient which suggested itself was to 
open communication with the Esquimaux of Whale 
Sound, and, in the event of this being accomplished, 
it was fair to suppose that some animals might be 
obtained from them. If we could succeed in bring-ino; 
the tribe to the vessel, we might readily accomplish 
our wish ; for, during the period that their dogs would 
be in our service, we could, if necessity required it, 
furnish them all with food, either from our stores or 
from the hunt. 

Hans was consulted concerning the Esquimaux, and 
from him we learned that there was a family living on 
Northumberland Island, several fxmilies on the south 
side of Whale Sound, and possibly one or more on the 
north side. Northumberland Island was about a hun- 
dred miles distant as we would be obliged to travel 
in order- to reach it, and the south side of the Sound 
about one hundred and fifty. That we should com- 
municate with these people at the earliest practicable 
moment was a matter of the first importance. If a 
sufficient number of the dogs should remain alive 
when the moon came in December, it was arranged 
that Sonntag should make the journey at that period, 
taking a single sledge, and Hans for a driver. If the 
dogs should all die, then T intended to go down on 
foot as soon as possible, and do my best to bring all 
of the Esquimaux to Port Foulke and Etah, use their 
dogs while we needed them, and feed and clothe the 
people in the interval. Meanwhile, however, we could 
only wait through the mid-December darkness, -and 
hope that the month would end more auspiciously 
than it had begun. 



CHAPTER XV. 

THE ARCTIC MIDNIGHT. — SONNTAG STARTS FOR WHALE SOUND. — EFFECTS OP 
DARKNESS ON THE SPIRITS. — ROUTINE OF DUTIES. — CHRISTMAS EVE. — 
CHRISTMAS DAY. — THE CHRISTMAS DINNER. 

December 2 2d. 

The sun has reached to-day its greatest southern 
decHnation, and we have passed the Arctic Midnight. 
The winter solstice is to us the meridian day, as 
twelve o'clock is the meridian hour to those who 
dwell in lands where the sun comes three hundred 
and sixty-five times instead of once in the " revolving 
year." 

To me these last four weeks have been eventful 
ones, and I hail this day with joy, and am glad to 
feel that we are now on the downward hill-side of the 
polar darkness. The death of my dogs fills me with 
sadness, and this sadness is doubled when I think that 
the disaster has sent Sonntag into the dangers of the 
night to remedy in season the evil. 

Sonntag set out yesterday to reach the Esquimaux. 
We had talked the matter over from day to day, and 
saw clearly that it was the only thing to do. Hans 
told us that the Esquimaux would congregate about 
Cape York towards the spring, and it was evident that 
if we waited for daylight they would be beyond our 
reach. There seemed from Hans's story to be at least 
a reasonable probability that some of them might be 
at Sorfalik, or at other stations on the north side of 



PREPARATIONS FOR A JOURNEY. 201 

Whale Sound, and Hans had no doubt that the jour- 
ney could be easily made, even if they had to travel 
to Northumberland Island, or beyond, to Netlik. He 
was eager to go, and Sonntag, impatient for the 
trial, was waiting only for the moon and settled 
weather. Hans was the only available driver, for he 
alone knew where to find the native villages, and 
three persons to one sledge was against all the canons 
of Arctic traveling. Although my suspicions had been 
aroused against him at the time of Peter's disappear- 
ance, yet nothing had been proved, and Sonntag liked 
him quite as well as Jensen for a driver, and still re- 
tained faith in him. To take Jensen was to incumber 
himself with a useless hindrance. The journey would 
be a rapid one, and it was important to spare all need- 
less weight. The disease among the dogs subsided 
six days ago, when the last death occurred, leaving 
nine good animals, all of which Sonntag took with 
him. 

But little time was required to prepare the party 
for the journey. Hans made for himself a buffalo bag 
wherein to sleep, and Sonntag carried for his own use 
one of bear-skin which he had brought from Uperna- 
vik. Their provisions were for twelve days, although 
it is not expected that they will be absent so long, for 
the distance can be made to Northumberland Island, 
if they are required to go so far, in two marches. 
Sonntag and myself made it in three marches in De- 
cember, 1854. It is often made by the Esquimaux in 
one journey, and Hans seemed to look upon it as an 
easy and trifling task. They carried no tent, intend- 
ing to rely upon the snow hut, with the construction 
of w^hich Hans is, of necessity, very familiar, and Sonn- 
tag has had, in years past, much experience. The 



202 SONNTAG STARTS FOR WHALE SOUITD. 

plan is that they are to pass over the glacier back of 
Cape Alexander, in case the ice should not be firm 
around the cape, and thence to make down the coast 
directly for Sorfalik. In the event of Esquimaux not 
being found at that place, they will cross over the 
Sound directly for Northumberland Island, unless 
they shall discover good reason for keeping along the 
coast twenty miles further for Peteravik. , 

The weather has been quite stormy up to yester- 
day, when it feU calm, and the thermometer stood at 
— 21°. To-day it has grown much milder, and light 
snow is falling. The temperature is above zero, and 
every thing looks promising for the travelers. They 
have been absent now thirty-six hours, and have, no 
doubt, passed the cape and are well on the journey. 

Their start occasioned much excitement, and aroused 
the ship's company from a lethargic disposition into 
which they have lately seemed inclined to fall in spite 
of every thing. Sonntag was in excellent spirits, and 
felt confident that he would soon bring the Esqui- 
maux and dogs ; and he rejoiced over the prospect of 
a few days of a-dventure. Hans was lively and eager. 
He cracked his whip, the dogs bounded into their col- 
lars, and were off at a full gaUop. The sledge glided 
glibly over the snow ; and, as they plunged out into 
the moonlight, we sent after them the true nautical 
" Hip, hip, hurrah ! " three times repeated, and then a 
" tiger." 

December 23d. 

I had a strange dream last night, which I cannot 
help mentioning ; and, were I disposed to supersti- 
tion, it might incline me to read in it an omen of evil. 
I stood with Sonntag far out on the frozen sea, when 
suddenly a crash was heard through the darkness, and 



ROUTINE OF DUTIES. 203 

in an instant a crack opened in the ice between us. 
It came so suddenly and widened so rapidly that he 
could not spring over it to where I stood, and he 
sailed away upon the dark waters of a troubled sea. 
I last saw him standing firmly upon the crystal raft, 
his erect form cutting sharply against a streak of 
light which lay upon the distant horizon. 

Our life moves on with unobstructed monotony. 
There are but few incidents to mark the progress of 
these tedious hours of darkness. If I have now some 
fears for Sonntag, yet I envy him, and cannot wonder 
at his eagerness to go, independent of his important 
object. A dash among the Esquimau villages, and a 
few days of combat with the storms would lift one out 
of the prolonged dullness of this waiting for the day. 
Any thing in the world is better than inaction and 
perpetual sameness. Rest and endless routine are our 
portion. The ship's duties and our social duties are 
performed from week to week with the same painfully 
precise regularity. We live by "bells," and this may 
be true in a double sense. " Bells " make the day, 
and mark the progress of time. But for these " bells/' 
these endless " bells," I believe we should all lie down 
and sleep on through the eternal night, and wake not 
until the day dawned upon us in the long hereafter. 
" Bells " tell us the hours and the half hours, and 
change the " watch," and govern the di visons of time, 
as at sea. " One bell " calls us to breakfast, two to 
lunch, and " four bells " is the dinner summons. " Six 
bells " is the signal for putting out the lights, and at 
"seven bells" we open our eyes again to the same 
continuous pale glimmer of the kerosene lamp, and 
we awake again to the same endless routine of occu- 
pations, idleness, and ennui. 



204 EOUTINE OF DUTIES. 

The hunters continue to chase the reindeer and 
foxes in the moonhght, — more, however, from habit 
and for exercise than from any encouragement they 
find in success ; for, even when the moon shines, they 
can shoot only at random. The work at the observa- 
tory goes on, and when the magnetic " term day " 
comes round we clamber over the ice-foot every hour, 
and it marks an event. The occultations of Jupiter's 
satellites are carefully observed through the telescope, 
that our chronometers may not go astray ; the tide 
continues to rise and fall, regardless of the vast load 
of ice that it lifts, and indifferent as to the fact that it 
is watched. Dodge keeps up his ice-measurements, 
and finds that the crystal table has got down to our 
keel (6| feet), so that we are resting in a perfect cra- 
dle. That the sailors may have something to do, I 
have given them an hour's task each day sewing up 
canvas bags for the spring journeys. From the offi- 
cers I continue to have the same daily reports ; the 
newspaper comes out regidarly, and continues to 
afford amusement ; the librarian hands out the books 
every morning, and they are well read ; the officers 
and the men have no new means of entertainment, 
and usually fill up the last of the waking hours (I 
cannot say the evening, where there is nothing else 
but night) with cards and pipes. I go into the cabin 
oftener than I used to ; but I do not neoiect mv chess 
with Knorr, and, until Sonntag left us, I filled up 
a portion of every evening in converse with him, and, 
for the lack of any thing new, we talked over and 
over again of our summer plans, and calculated to a 
nicety the measure of our labor, and the share which 
each would take of the work laid out. 

And thus we jog on toward the spring ; but each 



EFFECTS OF DARKNESS. 205 

hour of the darkness grows a Httle longer, and soaks 
a little more color from the blood, and takes a little 
more from the elasticity of the step, and adds a little 
more to the lengthening face, and checks little by 
little the cheerful laugh and the merry jest that come 
from the hold and cabin ; and, without being willing 
to confess it openly, yet we are all forced to acknowl- 
edge to ourselves that the enemy does now and then 
get the better of us, and that we have often to renew 
the resolution. The novelty of our life is exhausted, 
and the outside world has nothing new. The moon- 
light comes and goes again, and the night glistens 
clear and cold over the white landscape ; and the 
memory returns unbidden to other days that are fled 
and gone ; and we miss in the sparkling air and the 
still hour of the winter night the jingling bells, and 
the sleigh which will always hold one more, and the 
wayside inn, and the smoking supper that "mine 
host " serves up, and the crackling blaze of country 
logs ; and then, when we forget the moon, and the 
snow, and the frost, and recall the summer and the 
sunshine, we remember that " the seat in the shade 
of the hawthorn bush" is far away. 

December 24th. 
Christmas Eve ! What happy memories are recalled 
by the mention of that name ! How much of youth- 
ful promise it brings back to the weary mind and to 
the aching heart ! How potent is the charm, how 
magical the influence ! A beam of light has fallen 
within this little ice-bound vessel, and from the prom- 
ised morn we catch the same inspiration that has 
come to all mankind since " that bright and lovely 
star " first rose to the shepherds of Judea ; for wher- 



206 CHRISTMAS EVE. 

ever we are on this wide, wide world, we find in the 
day the symbol which binds us all to one cherished 
hope. Gladness springs into being with the rising 
sun, and the Christmas bells, sending their merry 
voices on the wings of the returning light, encircle 
the earth in one continuous peal. Their chimes ring 
out glad tidings everywhere. The joyous music re- 
joices the lonely watcher on the sea, and the hunter 
who warms himself beside the embers of his smoulder- 
ing fire ; it penetrates the humble cabin of the slave 
and the hut of the weary emigrant ; it reaches the 
wanderer on the steppes of Tartary, and the savage 
in the forest ; it consoles the poor and the sorrowing, 
and the rich and the powerful ; and to the sick and 
to the well alike, wherever they may be under the 
sun, it brings a blessed brightness ; — - and it gleams, 
too, 

. ..." on the eternal snows, beneath the Polar Star, 
And with a radiant Cross it lights the Southern deep afar. 
And Christmas morn is but the dawn, the herald of a day 
That circles in its boundless love, no winter, no decay." 

I have never seen the ship so bright and cheerful. 
Sundry boxes have been produced from out-of-the-way 
corners, and from the magical manner of their appear- 
ance one might think that Santa Clans had charged 
himself with a special mission to this little world, be- 
fore he had begun to fill the shoes and stockings and 
to give marriage portions to destitute maidens, in the 
dear old lands where he is patron of the " Christ Kin- 
kle Eve," and where the silver cord binding the affec- 
tions is freshened once a year with the Christmas 
offering. The cabin-tal^le fairly groans under a mass 
of holiday fare, — kindly mementos from those who 
are talking about us to-night around the family fire- 



CHRISTMAS DAY. 207 

side. Shoals of bon-bons, and " Christmas cakes " of 
every imaginable kind, bearing all sorts of tender 
mottoes, come out of their tin cases, setting off pro- 
spective indigestion against glad hearts. 

Everybody has been busy to-day getting ready to 
celebrate the morrow and to keep the holidays. To 
this praiseworthy purpose I give, of course, every en- 
couragement. The ship's stores contain nothing that 
is too good for the Christmas feast, which McCor- 
mick promises shall outdo that of his birthday. Un- 
fortunately he will be unable to give it his per- 
sonal attention, for he is laid up with a frosted foot 
which he got while hunting, in some manner known 
only to himself. As no one at home likes to confess 
that he has been run away with and thrown from his 
steed, so no one here cares to own to the power of 
Jack Frost over him. To be frost-bitten is the one 
standing reproach of this community. 

December 26th. 

Christmas has come and gone again, and has left 
upon the minds of all of us a pleasant recollection. 
To me it would have been a day of unalloyed pleas- 
ure, had it not been that my thoughts followed Sonn- 
tag, and dwelt upoil the sad loss that I have suffered 
in the death of my dogs ; for the people were gay 
and lively, and to see them thus is now my first con- 
cern. Aside from all sentiment connected with wish- 
ing people happy, to me it has another meaning, for 
it is the guaranty of health. 

The ship's bell was hoisted to the mast-head, and 
while the bells of other lands were pealing through 
the sunlight, and over a world of gladness, ours sent 
its clear notes ringing through the darkness and the 



208 CHRISTMAS DAY. 

solitude. After this we met together in the cabin, and 
gave our thanks in our own modest way for the bless- 
ings which kind Heaven had vouchsafed us ; and 
then each one set himself about his allotted duties. It 
is needless to say that these duties concerned chiefly 
the preparation and advancement of every thing 
which concerned a " Christmas dinner." The officers 
dressed the cabin with flags, and the sailors decorated 
their walls and beams with stripes of red, wdiite, and 
blue flannel which was loaned" to them from the 
ship's stores. The schooner was illuminated through- 
out, and every lamp was called into requisition. An 
extra allowance of oil was granted to the occasion, 
and the upper-deck was refulgent with light. Two 
immense chandeliers were constructed for the dinner- 
tables, and some gold and silver paper, strings of span- 
gles, and strips of braid, kindly presented to us by 
Mr. Horstmann for the winter theatricals, which have 
never come off, covered the wood of which thej^ were 
composed, and gave them quite an air of splendor ; 
while two dozen of spermacetti candles brilliantly 
illuminated the apartments in which they hung. 

A short time before the dinner-hour I visited the 
men's quarters, at their request, and was as much 
gratified with the taste that they had exhibited as 
with the heartiness with which they entered into the 
spirit of the day. Every nook and corner of the hold 
was as clean and tidy as possible. Everybody was 
busy and delighted. The cook might, however, be 
regarded as an exception to the latter rule, for the 
success of everybody's projects depended upon his 
skill, and he was closely watched. I halted at his 
red-hot galley-stove, and wished him a merry Christ- 
mas. " Tank you, sar ! " said he ; " but I gets no time 



MERRY CHRISTMAS. 209 

to tink about de merry Christmas. De Commander 
see dese big reindeers." And he went on vigorously 
bastino; two fine haunches of venison which had been 
carefully treasured for the occasion, and putting the 
last touches to a kettle of tempting soup. Intending 
encouragement, I reminded him that his labors would 
be over with the serving of the dinner, when, with 
that consistency for which human nature is remark- 
able, especially in a ship's cook, he replied, " Please 
sar, so long as my Hebenly Fader gives me healt I 
likes to vork." 

As I passed out of the hold into the officers' cabin, 
the crew sent after me three cheers, and three more 
for the expedition, and I don't know how many fol- 
lowed afterward for a " merry Christmas " to them- 
selves. The upper-deck was light and cheerful with 
the multitude of lamps, and had been " cleared up " 
with unusual care ; and from amidships every thing 
had been removed. This Knorr told me was his work, 
and I was informed that there was to be a " ball." 
The disposition to consume oil was contagious. Even 
the heathenish little wife of my absent hunter had 
managed to procure an additional supply, and rejoiced 
in an extra blaze in honor of the day, the meaning of 
which was all Greek to her. Her hut was a cheerful 
nest of furs, and little Pingasuik, with a strip of tough 
seal-blubber, substituted for one of Goodyear's patent 
arrangements for children's gums, was laughing and 
crowing as a Christian baby would be expected to do 
on this most Christian day. Jacob, fat Jacob, was 
grinning in one corner. Charley told me that he be- 
gan grinning early in the morning, at the prospect of 
the many crumbs to come from so bounteous a feast ; 
and, in order to prepare himself for the task; he had 

14 



210 AN" ARCTIC BALL. 

swallowed a fox which Jensen brought in from one of 
his traps, and which he had turned over to the bo}^ to 
skin. Out on the ice I found a boisterous group en- 
gaged around two large tin kettles. They were stir- 
ring something with wooden sticks, and I found that, 
at 34° below zero, they were making " water ice " and 
" Roman punch " by wholesale. They needed no 
chemical compounds for their "freezer." 

At six o'clock I joined the officers at dinner. Our 
glass and crockery has, in some mysterious manner 
known only to the steward, been disappearing from 
the time of leaving Boston, but there is plenty of tin 
ware to supply the deficiency, and each cup contained 
a boquet of flowers, cut from tissue-paper, and a mam- 
moth centre-piece of the same materials stood under 
the glittering chandelier. The dinner was much en- 
joyed by everybody, and if we lacked the orthodox 
turkey, the haunch was not a bad substitute. 

I remained until nine o'clock, and left the party to 
a merry evening. The hour for extinguishing the 
lights was put off at discretion • and, having myself 
granted this privilege, I cannot, of course, say that 
any of the proprieties of discipline or of ship-board 
life were interfered with. Rejoiced to see that the 
people had the spirit to be merry at aU, I was only 
too glad to encourage them in it. Every part of the 
" Festival," as they facetiously call it, was conducted 
in a very orderly manner. The " ball " came off as 
promised, and when I went up, about midnight, to 
have a look at the merrymakers, I found Knorr, 
wrapped in furs, seated upon a keg, fiddling away in 
a very energetic manner, while Barnum and McDo- 
nald were going through a sailor's hornpipe with im- 
mense eclat ; then Carl swung the steward round in 



A PAS DE DEUX. 



211 



the " giddy mazes of the waltz ; " and, finally, Charley 
set the ship shaking with laughter by attempting a 
pas de deux with Madame Hans. The old cook had 
crawled up the ladder from below, and, forgetting his 
troubles and his " reindeers," applauded the actors 
vociferously. But he was soon observed to be mak- 
ing off from the " gay and festive " scene. A dozen 
voices called loudly after him, — 

" Hallo, cook ! — come back and have a dance ! " 

" Vat for me dance 
be no vomens ? " 

" But here 's Mrs. Hans, cook." 

" Ugh ! " — and he dove below. 



and make nonsense, ven dere 




CHAPTER XVI. 

THE KEW YEAR. — LOOKING FOR SONNTAG. — THE AURORA BOREALIS.— A RE- 
MARKABLE DISPLAY. — DEPTH OF SNOW. — STRANGE MILDNESS OP THB 
\YEATHER. — THE OPEN SEA. — EVAPORATION AT LOW TEMPERATURES.— 
LOOKING FOR THE TWILIGHT. —MY PET FOX. 

January 1st, 1861. 

The Christmas holidays have passed quickly away, 
and the year of grace eighteen hundred and sixty-one 
was born amid great rejoicings. We have just "rung 
out the Old and in the New." As the clock showed 
the midnight hour, the bell was tolled, our swivel gun 
serit a blaze of fire from its little throat into the dark- 
ness, and some fire-works went fizzing and banging 
into the clear sky. The rockets and blue-lights 
gleamed over the snow with a weird and strange 
light; and the loud boom of the- gun and the crash 
of the bell echoing and reechoing through the neigh- 
boring gorges seemed like the voices of startled spir- 
its of the solitude. 

I now look anxiously for the return of Sonntag and 
Hans. Indeed, I have been prepared to see them at 
any time within these past seven days ; for although 
I had little expectation that they would find Esqui- 
maux at Sorfalik or Peteravik, yet their speedy return 
would not have surprised me. This is the tenth day 
of their absence, and they have had more than ample 
time to go even to the south side of Whale Sound 
and come back again. I am the more anxious now 
that the moon has set, and the difficulties of traveling 



LOOKING FOR SONNTAG. 213 

are so greatly multiplied. However, Sonntag had an 
undisguised wish to remain some time among the na- 
tives, to study their language and habits, and to join 
them in their hunting excursions ; and when he left 
I felt quite sure that, if a reasonable pretext could be 
found for absenting himself so long, we would not see 
him until the January moon. There is no doubt that 
he will remain if he finds no interest of the expedi- 
tion likely to suffer in consequence. 

January 5th. 

I have no longer a dog. The General was the last 
of them, and he died two days ago. Poor fellow ! I 
had become more than ever attached to him lately, 
especially since he had quite recovered from the acci- 
dent to his leg, and seemed likely to be useful with 
the sledge after a while. It seems strange to see the 
place so deserted and so quiet. In the early winter I 
never went out of the vessel on the ice without hav- 
ing the whole pack crowding around me, playing and 
crying in gladness at my coming ; now their lifeless 
carcasses are strewn about the harbor, half buried in 
snow and ice, and, if not so fearful, they are at least 
hardly more sightly than were those other stiff and 
stark and tmsted figures which the wandering poets 
found beneath the dark sky and " murky vapors " and 
frozen waters of the icy realm of Dis. There was a 
companionship in the dogs, which, apart from their 
usefulness, attached them to everybody, and in this 
particular we all feel alike the greatness of the loss. 

But it is hard to get along without a pet of some 
kind, and since the General has gone I have got Jen- 
sen to catch me a fox, and the cunning little creature 
now sits coiled up in a tub of snow in one corner of 



214 THE AUKORA BOREALIS. 

my cabin ; and, as she listens to the scratching of my 
pen, she looks very much as if she would like to know 
what it is all about. I am trying hard to civilize her, 
and have had some success. She was very shy when 
brought in, but, being left to herself for a while, she 
has become somewhat reconciled to her new abode. 
She is about three fourths grown, weighs four and a 
quarter pounds, has a coat of long fine fur. resembling 
in color that of a Maltese cat, and is being instructed 
to answer to the name of Birdie. 

January 6th. 

I have often been struck with the singular circum- 
stance that up to this time we have scarcely seen the 
Aurora Borealis ; and until to-day there has been no 
display of any great brilliancy. We have been twice 
favored during the past twelve hours. The first was 
at eleven o'clock in the morning, and the second at 
nine o'clock in the evening. The arch was perfect in 
the last case ; in the former it was less continuous, 
but more intense. In both instances, the direction of 
the centre from the observatory was west by south 
(true), and was 30° above the horizon. Twenty de- 
grees above the arch in the evening there was another 
imperfect one, a phenomenon which 1 have not before 
witnessed. In the direction west-northwest a single 
ray shot down to the horizon, and there continued for 
almost an hour. 

The infrequency of the Auroral light has been more 
marked here than at Van Rensselaer Harbor. We 
seem to have passed almost beyond it. The region 
of its greatest brilliancy appears to be from ten to 
twenty degrees further south. As at Van Rensselaer 
Harbor, its exhibition is almost invariably on the 
western sky ; and Jensen tells me that this occurs 



AURORA. 215 

at Upernavik, and he says also that the phenomena 
are there much more brilHant and of greater fre- 
quency than here. 

The display of the morning was much finer than 
that of the evening. Indeed, I have rarely witnessed 
a more sublime or imposing spectacle. By the way, 
how strange it seems to be speaking of events hap- 
pening in the morning and in the evening, when, to 
save j'Our life, you could not tell without the clock 
by what name to call the divisions of time ! We 
say eleven o'clock in the morning and eleven o'clock 
in the evening from habit ; but if, by any mischance, 
we should lose our reckoning for twelve hours, we 
would then go on calling the evening morning and 
the morning evening, without being able to detect 
the error by any difference in the amount of light 
at these two periods of the day. But this is a di- 
gression. 

To come back to the Aurora of this morning. When 
it first appeared I was walking out among the ice- 
bergs at the mouth of the harbor ; and, although the 
time was so near noon, yet I was groping through 
a darkness that was exceedingly embarrassing to my 
movements among the rough ice. Suddenly a bright 
ray darted up from behind the black cloud which lay 
low -down on the horizon before me. It lasted but an 
instant, and, having filled the air with a strange illumi- 
nation, it died away, leaving the darkness even more 
profound than before. Presently the arch which I 
have before mentioned sprang across the sky, and the 
Aurora became gradually more fixed. The space in- 
closed by the arch was very dark, and was filled with 
the cloud. The play of the rays which rose from its 
steadily brightening border was for some time very 



216 AURORA. 

capricious, alternating, if I miglit be allowed the fig- 
ure, the burst of flame from a conflagration with the 
soft glow of the early morn. The light grew by 
degrees more and more intense, and from irregular 
bursts it settled into an almost steady sheet of bright- 
ness. This sheet was, however, far from uniform, for 
it was but a flood of mingling and variously- tinted 
streaks. The exhibition, at first tame and quiet, be- 
came in the end startling in its brilliancy. The 
broad dome above me is all ablaze. Ghastly fires, 
more fierce than those which lit the heavens from 
burning Troy, flash angrily athwart the sky. The 
stars pale before the marvellous glare, and seem to 
recede further and further from the earth, — as when 
the chariot of the Sun, driven by Phaeton, and carried 
from its beaten track by the ungovernable steeds, 
rushed madly through the skies, parching the world 
and withering the constellations. The gentle An- 
dromeda flies trembling from the flame ; Perseus, 
with his flashing sword and Gorgon shield, retreats 
in fear; the Pole Star is chased from the night, and 
the Great Bear, faithful sentinel of the North, quits 
his guardian watch, following the feeble trail. The 
color of the light was chiefly red, but this was not 
constant, and every hue mingled in the fierce dis- 
play. Blue and yellow streamers were playing in the ^ 
lurid fire ; and, sometimes starting side by side from 
the wide expanse of the illumined arch, they melt into 
each other, and throw a ghostly glare of green into 
the face and over the landscape. Again this green 
overrides the red ; blue and orange clasp each other 
in their rapid flight ; violet darts tear through a broad 
flush of yellow, and countless tongues of white flame, 
formed of these unitino; streams, rush aloft and lick 



DEPTH OF SNOW. 217 

the skies. The play of this many-colored light upon 
the siuTOimding objects was truly wonderful. The 
weird forms of countless icebergs, singly and in clus- 
ters, loomed above the sea, and around their summits 
the strange gleam shone as the fires of Vesuvius over 
the doomed temples of Campania. Upon the moun- 
tain tops, along the white surface of the frozen waters, 
upon the lofty cliffs, the light glowed and grew dim 
and glowed again, as if the air was filled with charnel 
meteors, pulsating with wild inconstancy over some 
vast illimitable city of the dead. The scene was 
noiseless, yet the senses were deceived, for unearthly 
sounds seemed to follow the rapid flashes, and to fall 
upon the ear like 

" the tread 

Of phantoms dread, 
With banner, and spear, and flame." 

January 13th. 

The month of January runs on through stormy 
skies. The wind continues to blow as before, and the 
wild rush of gales fills the night with sounds of terror. 

The air has been, however, for the most part, quite 
clear. But little snow has fallen since November. 
The total depth now mounts up to 53|^ inches. I am 
more and more struck with the difference in the at- 
mospheric conditions of this place and Van Rensselaer 
Harbor. There we had rarely moisture, and gales 
were scarcely known. The temperatures were very 
low, and the winter was marked by a general calm. 
Here the temperatures are more mild than Parry's at 
Melville Island, the atmospheric disturbances have 
been very great, and the amount of snow has been 
truly surprising. There is one comfort at least in the 
winds. They either carry off the snow or pack it 



218 EVAPORATION AT LOW TEMPERATURES. 

very hard, so that we get about with as little diffi- 
culty as if we were walking upon the bare ice. It is 
pounded as hard as the drives in the Central Park. 

All these unusual phenomena are, as has been hith- 
erto observed, doubtless due to the close proximity of 
the open sea. How extensive this water may be is of 
course unknown, but its limits cannot be very small 
to produce such serious atmospheric disturbance. It 
seems, indeed, as if we were in the very vortex of the 
north winds. The poet has told us that the north 
winds 

" Are cradled far down in the depths that yawn 
Beneath the Polar Star ; " 

and it appears very much as if we had got into those 
yawning depths, and had come not only to the place 
where the winds are cradled, but where they are 
born. 

I have been making, all the winter through, a series 
of experiments which give me some interesting re- 
sults. They show that evaporation takes place at the 
very lowest temperatures, and that precipitation often 
occurs when the air is apparently quite clear. To 
determine this latter, I have exposed a number of 
smooth and carefully measured ice-surfaces, and have 
collected from them the light deposit. These accu- 
mulations, after reducing them to the standard of 
freshly fallen snow, amount thus far to seven eighths 
of an inch. To determine the evaporation, I have 
suspended in the open air a number of thin ice-plates, 
made in a shallow dish, and some strips of wet flannel. 
The flannel becomes perfectly dry in a few days, and 
the ice-plates disappear slowly and steadily. I gen- 
erally weigh them every second day, and it is curious 
to watch my little circular disks silently melting away 



MY PET FOX. 219 

and vanishing "into tliin air/' while the thermometer 
is down in the zeros. 

This evaporation at low temperatures is constantly 
taking place before our eyes, to our advantage. On 
wash-days the clothes are hung on lines stretched 
across the ship's rigging, or upon poles across the ice, 
as you will see on Monday afternoons in the farm- 
house yards ; and before the week is over the moist- 
ure has disajDpeared, no matter how cold it may be. 

January 16th. 

Our eyes now turn wistfully to the south, eagerly 
watching for the tip of Aurora's chariot, as the fair 
goddess of the morning rises from the sea to drop a 
ray of gladness from her rosy fingers into this long- 
neglected Vv^orld. 

It is almost a month since we passed the darkest 
day of the winter, and it will be a long time yet be- 
fore we have light 5 but it is time for us now to have 
at noontime a faint flush upon the horizon. We find 
a new excitement, if such it may be called, in the im- 
patience of expectation. Meanwhile I pet my fox. 

Birdie has become quite tame, and does great credit 
to her instructor. She is the most cunning creature 
that was ever seen, and does not make a bad substi- 
tute for the General. She takes the General's place 
at my table, as she has his place in my affections ■ but 
she sits in my lap, where the General never was ad- 
mitted, and, with her delicate little paws on the cloth, 
she makes a picture. Why, she is indeed a perfect 
httle gourmande, well bred, too, and clever. When she 
takes the little morsels into her mouth her eyes spar- 
kle with delight, she wipes her lips, and looks up at 
me with a coquetterie that is perfectly irresistible. The 



220 MY PET FOX. 

eagerness of appetite is controlled by the proprieties 
of the table and a proper self-respect ; and she is sa1>- 
isfied to prolong a feast in which she finds so much 
enjoyment. She does not like highly seasoned food ; 
indeed, she prefers to take it au natural, so I have a 
few little bits of venison served for her on a separate 
plate. She has her own fork ; but she has not yet 
advanced sufficiently far in the usages of civilization 
to handle it for herself, so I convey the delicate mor- 
sels to her mouth. Sometimes she exhibits too much 
impatience ; but a gentle rebuke with the fork on 
the tip of the nose is quite effective in restoring her 
" patience, and saving her from indigestion. 

Her habits greatly interest me. I have allowed her 
to run loose in my cabin, after a short confinement 
in a cage had familiarized her with the place ; but 
she soon found out the "bull's-eye" over my head, 
throuoi:h the cracks around which she could sniff the 
cool air ; and she got into the habit of bounding 
over the shelves, without much regard for the many 
valuable and perishable articles which lay thereon. 
From this retreat nothing can tempt her but a good 
dinner ; and as soon as she sees from her perch the 
bits of raw venison, she crawls leisurely down, sneaks 
gently into my lap, looks up longingly and lovingly 
into my face, puts out her little tongue with quick 
impatience, and barks bewitchingly if the beginning 
of the repast is too long delayed. 

I tried to cure her of this habit of climbing by 
tying her up with a chain which Knorr made for me 
of some iron wire ; but she took it so much to heart 
that I had to let her go. Her efforts to free herself 
were very amusing, and she well earned her freedom. 
She tried continually to break the chain, and, having 



MY PET FOX. 221 

once succeeded, she seemed determined not to be baf- 
fled in her subsequent attempts. As long as I was 
watching her she wonld be quiet enough, coiled up in 
her bed or her tub of snow ; but the moment my eyes 
were off her, or she thought me asleep, she worked 
hard to effect her liberation. First she would draw 
herself back as far as she could get, and then suddenly 
darting forward, would bring up at the end of her 
chain with a jerk which sent her reeling on the floor ; 
then she would pick herself up, panting as if her little 
heart would break, shake out her disarranged coat, 
and try again. But this she would do with much de- 
liberation. For a moment she would sit quietly down, 
cock her head cunningly on one side, follow the chain 
with her eye along its w^hole length to its fastening in 
the floor, and then she would walk leisurely to that 
point, hesitate a moment, and then make another 
plunge. All this time she would eye me sharply, 
and if I made any movement, she would fall down 
at once on the floor and pretend sleep. 

She is a very neat and cleanly creature. She is 
everlastingly brushing her clothes, and she bathes very 
regularly in her bath of snow. This last is her great 
delight. She roots up the clean white flakes with her 
diminutive nose, rolls and rubs and half buries herself 
in them, wipes her face with her soft paws, and when 
all is over she mounts with her delicate fingers to the 
side of the tub, looks around her very knowingly, 
and barks the prettiest little bark that ever was 
heard. This is her way of enforcing admiration ; and, 
being now satisfied with her performance, she gives a 
goodly number of shakes to her sparkling coat, and 
then, happy and refreshed, she crawls to her airy bed 
in the " bull's-eye " and sleeps. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

THE ARCTIC NIGHT. 

January 20 th. 

The Morn is coming ! 

A faint twilight flush mounted the southern sky 
to-day at the meridian hour, and, although barely per- 
ceptible, it was a cheering sight to all of us. 

At our usual Sunday gathering, I read from Eccle- 
siastes these lines : — 

" Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eye to 
behold the sun." 

And this suggested the text for our evening con- 
versation ; and we talked long of the future and of 
what was to be done, with the coming again of the 
god of day. 

We all feel now that the veil of nio;ht is liftino-, that 
the cloud is passing away, that the heavy load of 
darkness is being lightened. The people have ex- 
hausted their means of amusement ; the newspajDer 
has died a natural death ; theatricals are impossible -, 
and there is nothing new to break the weariness of 
the long hours. 

But we shall soon have no need to give thought to 
these things. There will be ere long neither time nor 
occasion for amusements. The Arctic night will soon 
be numbered with the things of the past. We are 
eager that it shall have an end, and we long for the 
day and work. 



THE ARCTIC NIGHT. 223 

And say what you will, talk as you will of plucky 
and manly resolution, and mental resources, and all 
that sort of thing, this Arctic night is a severe ordeal. 
Physically one can get through it well enough. We 
are and always have been in perfect health. I am 
my own " ship's doctor," and am a doctor without a 
patient. Believing in Democritus rather than Hera- 
clitus, we have laughed the scurvy and all other 
sources of ill-health to shame. And we have laughed 
at the scurvy really and truly ; for if it does some- 
times come in, like a thief in the night, with salt ra- 
tions and insufficient food, which has not been our 
portion, it does, too, come with despondency and the 
splenetic blood of an unhappy household, from which 
we have fortunately been exempt. 

But if the Arctic night can be endured with little 
strain upon the physical, it is, nevertheless, a severe 
trial both to the moral and the intellectual faculties. 
The darkness which so lono; clothes Nature unfolds to 
the senses a new world, and the senses accommodate 
themselves to that world but poorly. The cheering 
influences of the rising sun which invite to labor ; the 
soothing influences of the evening twilight which in- 
vite to repose ; the change from day to night and from 
night to day which lightens the burden to the weary 
mind and the aching body, strengthening the hope 
and sustaining the courage, in the great life-battle of 
the dear home-land, is withdrawn, and in the con- 
stant longing for Light, Light, the mind and body, 
weary with the changeless progress of the time, fail 
to find Repose where all is Rest. The grandeur of 
Nature ceases to give delight to the dulled sympa- 
thies. The heart longs continually for new associa- 
tions, new objects, and new companionships. The 



J 



224 THE ARCTIC NIGHT. 

dark and drear solitude oppresses the understanding ; 
the desolation which everywhere reigns haunts the 
imagination ; the silence — dark, dreary, and pro- 
found — becomes a terror. 

And yet there is in the Arctic night much that is 
attractive to the lover of Nature. There is in the 
flashing Aurora, in the play of the moonlight upon 
the hills and icebergs, in the wonderful clearness of 
the starlight, in the broad expanse of the ice-fields, in 
the lofty grandeur of the mountains and the glaciers, 
in the naked fierceness of the storms, much that is 
both sublime and beautiful. But they speak a lan- 
guage of their own, — a language, rough, rugged 
and severe. 

Nature is here exposed on a gigantic scale. Out 
of the glassy sea the cliffs rear their dark fronts and 
frown grimly over the desolate waste of ice-clad 
waters. The mountain peaks, glittering in the clear 
cold atmosphere, pierce the very heavens, their heads 
hoary with unnumbered ages. The glaciers pour 
their crystal torrents into the sea in floods of immeas- 
urable magnitude. The very air, disdaining the gen- 
tle softness of other climes, bodies forth a loftier maj- 
esty, and seems to fill the universe w^ith a boundless 
transparency ; and the stars pierce it sharply, and the 
moon fills it with a cold refulirence. There is neither 
warmth nor coloring underneath this etherial robe of 
night. No broad window opens in the east, no gold 
and crimson curtain falls in the west, upon a world 
clothed in blue and green and purple, melting into 
one harmonious whole, a tinted cloak of graceful love- 
liness. Under the shadow of the eternal night, Nar 
ture needs no drapery and requires no adornment. 
The glassy sea, the tall cliff, the lofty mountain, the 



THE ARCTIC NIGHT. 225 

majestic glacier, do not blend one with the other. 
Each stands forth alone, clothed only with Solitude. 
Sable priestess of the Arctic winter, she has wrapped 
the world in a winding-sheet, and thrown her web 
and woof over the very face of Nature. 

And I have gone out often into the Arctic night, 
and viewed Nature under varied aspects. I have re- 
joiced with her in her strength, and communed with 
her in repose. I have seen the wild burst of her 
anger, have watched her sportive play, and have be- 
held her robed in silence. I have walked abroad 
in the darkness when the winds were roaring through 
the hills and crashing over the plain. I have strolled 
along the beach when the only sound that broke the 
stillness was the dull creaking of the ice-tables, as 
they rose and fell lazily with the tide. I have wan- 
dered far out upon the frozen sea, and listened to the 
voice of the icebergs bewailing their imprisonment j 
along the glacier, where forms and falls the avalanche ; 
upon the hill-top, where the drifting snow, coursing 
over the rocks, sang its plaintive song ; and again I 
have wandered away to some distant valley where all 
these sounds were hushed, and the air was still and 
solemn as the tomb. 

And it is here that the Arctic night is most impres- 
sive, where its true spirit is revealed, where its won- 
ders are unloosed to sport and play with the mind's 
vague imaginings. The heavens above and the earth 
beneath reveal only an endless and fathomless quiet. 
There is nowhere around me evidence of life or mo- 
tion. I stand alone in the midst of the mighty hills. 
Their tall crests climb upward, and are lost in the 
gray vault of the skies. The dark cliffs, standing 
against their slopes of white, are the steps of a vast. 

15 



226 THE ARCTIC NIGHT. 

amphitheatre. The mind, finding no rest on their 
bald summits, wanders into space. The moon, weary 
with long vigil, sinks to her repose. The Pleiades no 
longer breathe their sweet influences. Cassiopea and 
Andromeda and Orion and all the infinite host of 
unnumbered constellations, fail to infuse one spark of 
joy into this dead atmosphere. They have lost all 
their tenderness, and are cold and pulseless. The eye 
leaves them and returns to earth, and the trembling 
ear awaits something that will break the oppressive 
stillness. But no footfall of livins; thino; reaches it : 
no wild beast howls through the solitude. There is 
no cry of bird to enliven the scene ; no tree, among 
whose branches the winds can sigh and moan. The 
pulsations of my own heart are alone heard in the 
great void ; and as the blood courses through the 
sensitive organization of the ear, I am oppressed as 
with discordant sounds. Silence has ceased to be 
negative. It has become endowed with positive at- 
tributes. I seem to hear and see and feel it. It 
stands forth as a frightful spectre, filling the mind 
with the overpowering consciousness of universal 
death, — proclaiming the end of all things, and her- 
alding the everlasting future. Its presence is unen- 
d arable. I spring from the rock upon which I have 
been seated, I plant my feet heavily in the snow to 
banish its awful presence, — and the sound rolls 
through the night and drives away the phantom. 

I have seen no expression on the face of Nature so 
filled with terror as The Silence of the Arctic Night. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

PROLONGED ABSENCE OF JIR. SONNTAG. — PREPARING TO LOOK FOR HIM.— 
ARRIVAL OF ESQUIMAUX. — THEY REPORT SONNTAG DEAD. — ARRIVAL OF 
HANS. — CONDITION OF THE DOGS. — HANS'S STORY OF THE JOURNEY. 

A FULL month had now elapsed smce Sonntag and 
Hans left us, and several days of the January moon- 
light havmg passed over without bringing them back, 
I had some cause for alarm. It was evident that they 
had either met with an accident, or were detained 
among the Esquimaux in some unaccountable man- 
ner. I therefore began to devise means for determin- 
ing what had become of them. First, I sent Mr. 
Dodge down to Cape Alexander to pursue the trail 
and ascertain whether they had gone around or over 
the cape. The sledge-track was followed for about 
five miles, when it came suddenly to an end, the ice 
having broken up and drifted away since December. 
Dodge could now only examine the passes of the gla- 
cier ; and finding there no tracks, it was evident that 
the party had gone outside. 

My next concern was to determine whether the 
tracks reappeared on the firm ice south of the cape -, 
and accordingly I prepared to start with a small foot 
party, and cross over the glacier. In the event of 
finding tracks below Cape Alexander, my course 
would then be governed by circumstances ; but if the 
track should not appear, it would be conclusive evi- 
dence that the party was lost, and I would proceed 



228 ARRIVAL OF ESQUIMAUX. 

south until I reached the Esqinmaux, for I could no 
longer afford to delay communication with them. 
Although the temperature had now fallen to 43° be- 
low zero, yet the careful preparations which I had 
made for camping relieved the journey from any risks 
on that account. The mercury froze for the first time 
during the winter while Dodge was absent, and I was 
extravagant enough to mould a bullet of it and send 
it from my rifle through a thick plank. Dodge, who 
was one of my most hardy men, returned from his 
twelve hours' tramp complaining that he had suffered 
rather from heat than cold, and he declared that, when 
called upon another time to wade so far through snow- 
drifts and hummocks, he would not carry so heavy a 
load of furs. In truth, both he and his two compan- 
ions came in perspiring freely under their buffalo-skin 
coats. 

My projected journey was, however, destined not 
to come off. The sledo-e was loaded with our light 
cargo, and we were ready to set out on the morning 
of the 27th, but a gale sprung up suddenly and de- 
tained us on board during that and the following day. 
Early in the morning of the 29th, the wind having 
fallen to calm, we were preparing to start. The men 
were putting on their furs, and I was in my cabin 
giving some last instructions to Mr. McCormick, when 
Carl, who had the w^atch on deck, came hastily to my 
door to report " Two Esquimaux alongside." They 
had come upon us out of the darkness very suddenly 
and unobserved. 

Conjecturing that these people would hardly have 
visited us without having first fallen in with Sonntag 
and Hans, I at once sent the interpreter to interro- 
gate them. He came back in a few minutes. I in- 



SONNTAG'S DEATH REPORTED. 229 

quired eagerly if they brought news of Mr. Sonntag. 
"Yes." I had no need to inquire further. Jensen's 
face told too plainly the terrible truth, — Sonntag was 
dead ! 

I sent Jensen back to see that the wants of our 
savage visitors were carefully provided for, and to 
question them further. They proved to be two of my 
old acquaintances, — Ootinah, to whom I was under 
obligations for important services in 1854, ^nd a 
sprightly fellow, who, having had his leg crushed by 
a falling stone, had since hobbled about on a w^ooden 
one supplied to him, in 1850, by the surgeon of the 
North Star, and which I had once repaired for him. 
They both came on one sledge, drawn by five dogs, 
and had traveled all the way through from a village, 
on the south side of Whale Sound, called Iteplik, with- 
out a halt. They had faced a wind part of the way, 
and w^ere covered from head to foot with snow and 
frost. Their wants were soon bountifully supplied, 
and they were not slow in communicating the infor- 
mation which most interested me. From them I 
learned that Hans was on his way to the vessel mth 
his wife's father and mother. Some of his dogs had 
died, and he was traveling in slow and easy stages. 
There being no longer any occasion for my southern 
journey, the preparations therefor were discontinued. 

Hans arrived two days afterward, and, much to 
our surprise, he was accompanied only by his wife's 
brother, a lad whom I had seen some months before 
at Cape York ; but the cause of this was soon ex- 
plained. His wife's father and mother, as Ootinah 
informed me, had journeyed with him, but they, as 
well as the dogs, had broken down, and were left be- 
hind, near the glacier, and Hans had come on for 



230 HAl^S'S STORY. 

assistance. A party was at once dispatched to bring 
them in. Hans being cold and fatigued, I refrained for 
the time from questioning him, and sent the weather- 
beaten travelers to get warmed and fed. 

The two old people were found coiled up in a cave 
dug in a snow-bank, and were shivering with the cold. 
The dogs were huddled together near by, and not one 
of them would stir a step, so both the animals and 
the Esquimaux were bundled in a heap upon our 
large ice-sledge, and dragged to the vessel. The Es- 
quimaux were soon revived by the warmth and good 
cheer of Hans's tent, while the dogs, only five in 
number, lay stretched out on the deck in an almost 
lifeless condition. They could neither eat nor move. 
And this was the remnant of my once superb pack 
of thirty-six, and this the result of a journey from 
which I had hoped so much ! There was a mystery 
somewhere. What could it all mean ? I quote from 
my diary : — 

February 1st. 

Hans has given me the story of his journey, and I 
sit down to record it with very painful emotions. 

The travelers rounded Cape Alexander without diffi- 
culty, finding the ice solid ; and they did not halt until 
they had reached Sutherland Island, where they built 
a snow hut and rested for a few hours. Continuing 
thence down the coast, they sought the Esquimaux at 
Sorfalik without success. The native hut at that place 
being in ruins, they made for their shelter another 
house of snow ; and, after being well rested, they set 
out directly for Northumberland Island, having con- 
cluded that it was useless to seek longer for natives 
on the north side of the Sound. They had proceeded 
on their course about four or five miles, as nearly as 



HANS'S STORY 231 

I can judge from Hans's description, when Sonntag, 
growing a little chilled, sprang off the sledge and ran 
ahead of the dogs to warm himself with the exercise. 
The tangling of a trace obliging Hans to halt the 
team for a few minutes, he fell some distance behind, 
and was hurrying on to catch up, when he suddenly 
observed Sonntag sinking. He had come upon the 
thin ice, covering a recently open tide-crack, and, 
probably not observing his footing, he stepped upon 
it unawares. Hans hastened to his rescue, and aided 
him out of the water, and then turned back for the 
shelter which they had recently abandoned. A light 
wind was blowing at the time from the northeast, and 
this, according to Hans, caused Sonntag to seek the 
hut without stopping to change his wet clothing. At 
first he ran beside the sledge, and thus guarded 
against danger ; but after a while he rode, and when 
they halted at Sorfalik, Hans discovered that his com- 
panion was stiff and speechless. Assisting him into 
the hut with all possible despatch, Hans states that he 
removed the wet and frozen clothing, and placed 
Sonntag in the sleeping-bag. He next gave him some 
brandy which he found in a flask on the sledge ; and, 
having tightly closed the hut, he lighted the alcohol 
lamp, for the double purpose of elevating the temper- 
ature and making some coffee ; but all of his efforts 
were unavailing, and, after remaining for nearly a 
day unconscious, Sonntag died. He did not speak 
after reaching the hut, and left no message of any 
kind. 

After closing up the mouth of the hut, so that the 
body might not be disturbed by the bears or foxes, 
Hans again set out southward, and reached Northum- 
berland Island without inconvenience. Much to his 



232 HANS'S STORY. 

disappointment, he found that the natives had re- 
cently abandoned the village at that place ; but he 
obtained a comfortable sleep in a deserted hut, and 
under a pile of stones he found enough walrus flesh 
to give his dogs a hearty meal. The next daj^'s jour- 
ney brought him to Netlik, which place was also de- 
serted I and he continued on up the Sound some 
twenty miles further to Iteplik, where he was fortu- 
nate enough to find several families residing, some 
in the native stone hut and others in huts of snow. 
Whale Sound being a favorite winter resort of the 
seal, the people had congregated there for the time, 
and were living in the midst of abundance. Hans 
told his story, and, delighted to hear of our being 
near their old village of Etah, Ootinah and he of 
the wooden leg put their two teams together and 
resolved to accompany Hans when he set out to re- 
turn. 

Meanwhile, however, my hunter had other projects. 
He was only three days from the vessel, and had he 
come back at once the chief purpose of the journey 
would still have been accomplished ; but instead of 
doing this, he gave large rewards to two Esquimaux 
boys to go with his team down to Cape York. The 
stock of presents which Sonntag had taken for the 
Esquimaux all now fell to Hans, and he did not spare 
them. And he vows that his disposition of the prop- 
erty and the team was made in my interest. " You 
want the Esquimaux to know you are here. I tell 
them. They will come by and by and bring plenty 
of dogs." Why did he not go himself to Cape York ? 
He was too tired, and had, besides, a frosted toe which 
he got while attending upon Mr. Sonntag. 

Notwithstanding all these protestations of devotion 



HANS'S STORY. 233 

to my affairs, I strongly suspect, however, that certain 
commands were laid upon him by the partner of his 
tent and joys ; and, if domestic secrets were not bet- 
ter kept than are some other kinds, I should probably 
discover that the journey to Cape York was made for 
the sole purpose of bringing up from that place the 
two old people who own Hans for a son-in-law. So 
even here under the Pole Star the daughters of Eve 
o:overn the destinies of men. 

It was the old story of the borrowed horse over 
again. The journey was long and difficult ; the dogs 
were over-driven and starved ; and the party came 
back to Iteplik with only five dogs remaining of the 
nine with which they had set out. Four of them had 
broken down, and were left to die by the way. 

February 2d. 

Ootinah and his wooden-legged companion have left 
us, promising to return as soon as they have provided 
for their families. They carried av^ay with them 
many valuable presents, and if these do not tempt 
their savage kindred to the ship, nothing will. They 
Mall tell the Esquimaux that I want dogs, and I have 
charged them to circulate the knowledge of the ample 
returns which I will make to the hunter who will loan 
or sell to me his team. But alas ! dogs are scarce ; 
most of the hunters have none to spare, and many of 
them are wholly destitute. I had not a bribe in the 
ship large enough to induce either of those who have 
left me to part with even one of their precious ani- 
mals. Having discovered this, I could affbrd to be 
lavish with my presents, and these poor wanderers on 
the ice deserts probably left me quite as well off as if 
they had sold me their entire teams. They plead the 



234 HANS'S STORY. 

hunt and their famiUes, and these are strong argu- 
ments. Needles and knives, and iron and bits of 
wood, will not feed wives and babies, and a hundred 
and fifty miles is a long way to carry a child at the 
breast through the cold and storms of the Arctic 
night, even though it be to this haven of plenty. My 
charity was, however, intended to cover a double pur- 
pose, — to do them a substantial service, and to stim- 
ulate as well their cupidity as that of the tribe who 
are sure to flock around them at ItejDlik, to inspect 
their riches. I must own, however, that my pros- 
pects for obtaining dogs do not look, encouraging. 
But few of the Esquimaux are likely to come so far 
with their impoverished teams. 

Hans sticks to the story of yesterday ; and, after 
questioning and cross-questioning him for an hour, I 
get nothing new. Although I have no good reason 
for doubting the truth of his narrative, yet I cannot 
quite reconcile my mind to the fact that Sonntag, 
with so much experience to govern him, should have 
undertaken to travel five miles in wet clothing, espe- 
cially as he was accompanied by a native hunter who 
was familiar with all of the expedients for safety upon 
the ice-fields, and to whom falling in the water is no 
unusual circumstance. The sledge and the canvas 
apron which inclosed the cargo furnished the means 
for constructing a temporary shelter from the wind, 
and the sleeping-bag would have insured against 
freezing while Hans got ready the dry clothing, of 
which Sonntag carried a complete change. Nor can 
I understand how he should have lived so long and 
have given Hans no message for me, nor have spoken 
a word after coming out of the water, further than to 
have ordered his driver to hasten back to the snow- 



HANS'S STOBY. 235 

hut. However, it is idle to speculate about the mat- 
ter ; and since Hans's interests were concerned in 
proving faithful to the ofiicer who, of all those in the 
ship, cared most for him, it would be unreasonable as 
well as unjust to suspect him of desertion. 






CHAPTER XIX. 

SONNTAG. — TWILIGHT INCREASING. — A DEER-HUNT. — THE ARCTIC FOXES.— 
THE POLAR BEAR. — ADVENTURES WITH BEARS.— OUR NEW ESQUIMAUX. 
— ESQUIMAU DRESS.— A SNOW HOUSE. — ESQUIMAU IMPLEMENTS. — A WAL- 
RUS HUNT. 

I WILL not trouble the reader with the many gloomy 
reflections which I find scattered over the pages of 
my journal during the period succeeding the events 
which are recorded in the last chapter. While the 
loss of my dogs left me in much doubt and uncer- 
tainty as to my future prospects, the death of Mr. 
Sonntag deprived me of assistance which was very 
essential to the accomplishment of some of my pur- 
poses. His familiar acquaintance with the physical 
sciences, and his earnest enthusiasm in every thing 
which pertained to physical research, both in the field 
and study, made him an invaluable aid, while his 
genial disposition and manly qualities gave him a 
deep hold upon my affections. Similarity of taste 
and disposition, equal age, a common object, and a 
mutual dependence for companionship, had cemented 
more and more closely a bond of friendship which 
had its origin in the dangers and fortunes of former 
travel. 

The light was now growing upon us from da}^ to 
day, and we found a fresh excitement in the renewal 
of the hunt. It must not, however, be supposed that, 
even at noon, we had yet any daylight; but there 



A DEER-HUNT. 237 

was a twiliffht, which was increasinsi: with each sue- 
cessive da.j. The reindeer had grown very poor dur- 
ing the winter, and their flesh was tough and almost 
tasteless ; but this did not discourage the hunters, and 
several captiu^es were made. One day a large herd 
came down near the store-house, which, being report- 
ed, caused a general scramble for guns, and a rush 
over the hills to surround the game. The crew ap- 
peared more like boys on a holiday frolic than men 
catering for their mess. They made noise enough, as 
one would have thought, to frighten every living- 
thing from the neighborhood ; but, nevertheless, three 
deer were shot. The thermometer stood at 41° below 
zero, and, there being a light wind, the air was some- 
what biting, and gave rise to numerous incidents 
quite characteristic of our life. The handling of the 
cold gun was attended with some risk to the fingers, 
as one can neither pull the trigger nor load with a 
mittened hand ; and there were quite a number of 
slight " burns," as wounds from this cause were jest- 
ingly called. McDonald carried an old flint-lock mus- 
ket, the only weapon that he could lay his hands on, 
and in the midst of the excitement he was heard to 
fire. Hurrying in that direction, Knorr eagerly in- 
quired what he was shooting at, and where the game 
had, gone. His answer afterward furnished us not 
a little amusement : " There was a monstrous big 
deer there half an hour ago, and had I pulled trigger 
when I left the ship I should have killed him. But 
you see the powder is so cold that it won't burn, and 
it takes half an hour to touch it oflf; " and;, to prove 
his theory, he poured a lot of it out on the dry snow, 
and applied a match. His singed whiskers bore ample 
evidence that his theory was not founded on fact. 



238 THE ARCTIC FOXES. 

The hill-sicle seemed to be alive with foxes ; ancl^ 
scenting the blood of the dead deer, they flocked in 
from all directions. These little animals were at first 
quite tame, but thej' had been cured of their famil- 
iarity by the lessons learned from the hunters, and 
had to be approached with adroitness. Of both the 
blue and white varieties I had living specimens in m}^ 
cabin. One of them was the gentle creature, named 
Birdie, which I have already mentioned. The other 
one was purely white, and did not differ from Birdie 
in shape, although it was somewhat larger. The fur 
of the latter was much more coarse than the former. 
Their cry was exactly the same. But, while Birdie 
was very docile, and had grown quite domesticated, 
the other was thoroughly wild and untamable. Their 
respective weights were 4| and 7 pounds. The latter 
was full grown and unusually large. 

These two varieties of the fox, notwithstanding 
their many points of resemblance, are evidently dis- 
tinct species. I have not known them to mix, the 
coat of each preserving its distinctive hue, that of the 
blue fox varying merely in degree of shade, while the 
white changes only from pure white to a slightl}^ yel- 
lowish tinge The term "blue," as applied to the 
species to which Birdie belonged, is not wholly a mis- 
nomer, for, as seen upon the snow, its color gives 
something of that effect. The color is in truth a solid 
gray, the white and black being harmoniously blended, 
and not mixed as in the gray fox of Northern Amer- 
ica. Their skins are much sought after by the trap- 
pers of Southern Greenland, where the animals are 
rare, for the fur commands a fabulous price in the 
Copenhagen market. 

These foxes obtain a very precarious subsistence, 



THE POLAR BEAR. 239 

and they may be seen at almost any time scampering 
over the ice, seeking the tracks of the bears, which 
they follow with the instinct of the jackal following 
the lion ; not that they try their strength against 
these roving monarchs of the ice-fields, but, whenever 
the bear catches a seal, the little fox comes in for a 
share of the prey. Their food consists besides of an 
occasional ptarmigan, (the Arctic grouse,) and if quick 
in his spring he may be lucky enough to capture a 
hare. In the summer they congregate about the 
haunts of the birds, and luxuriate upon eggs. It is a 
popular belief in Greenland that they gather enor- 
mous stores of them for their winter provender, but 
I have never witnessed in them any such evidence of 
foresight. 

The bears, wandering continually through the night, 
must needs have a hard struggle to live. During the 
summer, the seal, which furnish their only subsistence, 
crawl up on the ice, and are there easily caught ; but 
in the winter they only resort to the cracks to breathe, 
and, in doing so, barely put their noses above the 
water, so that they are captured with difficulty. 
Driven to desperation by hunger, the bear will some- 
times invade the haunts of men, in search of the food 
which their quick sense has detected. Our dogs, 
during the early winter, kept them from our vicinity ; 
but, when the dogs were gone, several bears made 
their appearance. One of them came overland from 
the Fiord, and approached the store-house from be- 
hind the observatory, where Starr was engaged in 
reading the scale of the magnetometer. The heavy 
tread of the wild beast was heard through the still- 
ness of the night, and, without much regard to the 
delicate organization of the instrument which he was 



240 ADVENTURES WITH BEARS. 

observing, the young gentleman rushed for the door, 
upset the magnetometer, and had nearly lost his life 
in his precipitate haste . to get over the dangerous ice- 
foot, while hurrying on board to give the alarm. We 
sallied out with our rifles ; but while Starr was fleeing: 
in one direction, the bear had been making off in the 
other. I had an adventure, about this time, which, 
like that of Starr's, shows that the Polar bear is not 
so ferocious as is generally supposed ; indeed, they 
have never been known to attack man except when 
hotly pursued and driven to close quarters. Strolling 
one day along the shore, I was observing with much 
interest the effect of the recent spring tides upon the 
ice-foot, when, rounding a point of land, I suddenly 
found myself confronted in the faint moonlight by an 
enormous bear. He had just sprung down from the 
land-ice, and was meeting me at a full trot. We 
cauo;ht sis-ht of each other at the same instant. Be- 
ing without a rifle or other means of defence, I 
wheeled suddenly toward the ship, with, I fancy, 
much the same reflections about discretion and valor 
as those which crossed the mind of old Jack Falstaff 
when the Douglas set upon him ; but finding, after a 
few lengthy strides, that I was not gobbled up, I looked 
back over my shoulder, when, as much to my surprise 
as gratification, I saw the bear tearing away toward 
the open water with a celerity which left no doubt as 
to the state of his mind. I suppose it would be diffi- 
cult to determine which was the worst frightened — 
the bear or I. 

The additions to the Hans family furnished us as 
well a welcome source of amusement as of service. 
As I have said before, they were three in number, and 
bore respectively the names of Tcheitchenguak, Kab- 



OUR NEW ESQUIMAUX. 241 

liinet, and Angeit. This latter was the brother of 
Hans's wife, and his name signifies " The Catcher " — 
given to him, no doubt, in early infency, from some 
peculiarity of disposition which he then manifested. 
And he was not inaptly named. The sailors took 
him into their favor, scrubbed and combed him, and 
dressed him in Christian clothing, and under their en- 
courao;ina: countenance he was soon found to be as 
full of tricks as a monkey, and as acquisitive as a mag- 
pie. He was the special torment of the steward and 
the cook. Driven almost to despair, and utterly de- 
feated in every project of reform, the former finally set 
at the little heathen with a bundle of tracts and a cat- 
echism, while the latter declared his fixed resolve to 
scald him on the first favorable opportunity. " Very 
well, cook ; but remember they hang for murder." 
" Den I kills him a leetle," was the ready answer. 

His mother, Kablunet, proved to be a useful addi- 
tion to our household. She was very industrious with 
her needle; and, until she became possessed, in pay- 
ment for her work, of such articles of domestic use as 
she needed, sewed for us continually, making every 
sort of skin garment, from boots to coats, which be- 
long to an Arctic wardrobe. Her complexion was 
quite light, as her name implied. Kablunet is the 
title which the Esq-jimaux give to our race, and it 
signifies " The child with the white skin ; " and if the 
name of her husband, Tcheitchenguak, did not mean 
" The child with the dark skin," it ought to, for he 
was almost black. 

The personal appearance of this interesting couple 
was not peculiarly attractive. Their faces were broad, 
jaws heavy, cheek-bones projecting like other carniv- 
orous animals, foreheads narrow, eyes small and very 

16 



242 ESQUIMAU DRESS. 

black, noses flat, lips long and thin, and when opened 
there were disclosed two narrow, white, well-preserved 
rows of polished ivory, — well worn, however, with 
long use and hard service, for the teeth of the Esqui- 
maux serve a great variety of purposes, such as soft- 
ening skins, pulling and tightening cords, besides 
masticating food, which I may here mention is wholly 
animal. Their hair was jet black, though not abun- 
dant, and the man had the largest growth of beard 
which I have seen upon an Esquimau face, but it 
was confined to the upper lip and the tip of the 
chin. The face of the Esquimau is indeed quite Mon- 
golian in its type, and is usually beardless. In stat- 
ure they are short, though well built, and bear, in 
every movement, evidence of strength and endurance. 
The dress of the male and female differed but little 
one from the other. It consisted of nine pieces, — a 
pair of boots, stockings, mittens, pantaloons, an under- 
dress, and a coat. The man wore boots of bear-skin, 
reaching to the top of the calf, where they met the 
pantaloons, which were composed of the same mate- 
rials. The boots of the woman reached nearly to the 
middle of the thigh, and were made of tanned seal- 
skins. Her pantaloons, like her husband's, were of 
bear-skin. The stockings were of dog-skin, and the 
mittens of seal-skin. The under-dress was made of 
bird-skins, feathers turned inwards ; and the coat, 
which did not open in front, but was drawn on over 
the head like a shirt, was of blue fox-skins. This coat 
terminates in a hood which envelops the head as com- 
pletely as an Albanian capote or a monk's cowl. This 
hood gives the chief distinction to the dresses of the 
sexes. In the costume of the man it is round, closely 
fitting the scalp, while in the woman it is pointed at 



A SNOW HUT. 243 

the top to receive the hair which is gathered up on 
the crown of the head, and tied into a hard, horn-like 
tuft with a piece of raw seal-hide, — a style of coiffure 
which, whatever may be its other advantages, cannot 
be regarded as peculiarly picturesque. 

Their ages could not be determined ; for, since the 
Esquimaux cannot enumerate beyond their ten fingers, 
it is quite impossible for them to refer to a past event 
by any process of notation. Having no written lan- 
guage whatever, not even the picture-writing and 
hieroglyphics of the rudest Indian tribes of North 
America, the race possesses no records, and such tra- 
ditions as may come down from generation to gener- 
ation are not fixed by any means which will furnish 
even an approximate estimate of their periods of 
growth, prosperity, and decay, or even of their own 
ages. 

These old people, soon growing tired of the warmth 
of Hans's tent, went ashore and built a snow hut, 
and set up housekeeping on their own account ; and 
living upon supplies which they got regularly from 
my abundant stores, and, with no need for exertion, 
it was perhaps not surprising that they should prove 
to be a very happy and contented couple. This snow- 
hut, although an architectural curiosity, would have 
excited the contempt of a beaver. It was nothing 
more than an artificial cave in a snow-bank, and was 
made thus : Right abreast of the ship there was a nar- 
row gorge, in which the wintry winds had piled the 
snow to a great depth, leaving, as it whirled through 
the opening, a sort of cavern, — the curving snow-bank 
on the right and overhead, and the square-sided rock 
on the left. Starting at the inner side of this cavern, 
Tcheitchenguak began to bury himself in the snow, 



244 TCHETTCHENGUAK "AT HOME." 

very much as a prairie-dog would do in the loose soil, 
— digging down into the drift, and tossing the lumps 
behind him with great rapidity. After going downward 
for about five feet, he ran off horizontally for about 
ten feet more. This operation completed, he now 
began to excavate his den. His shovel was struck 
into the hard snow above his head, the blocks which 
tumbled down were cleared away, and thrown out 
into the open air, and in a little while he could stand 
upright and work ; and when at length satisfied with 
the size of the cave, he smoothed it off all around and 
overhead, and came out covered with whiteness. The 
door-way was now fixed up and made just large 
enough to crawl through on all fours ; the entering 
tunnel was smoothed off like the inside ; the floor of 
the cave was covered first with a laj^er of stones, and 
then with several layers of reindeer-skins ; the walls 
were hung with the same materials ; two native lamps 
were lighted ; across the door-way was suspended 
another deer-skin, and Tcheitchenguak and his family 
were "at home." I called upon them some hours 
afterwards, and found them apparently warm and 
comfortable. The lamps (their only fire) blazed up 
cheerfully, and the light glistened on the white dome 
of this novel den ; the temperature had risen to the 
freezing point, and Kablunet, like a good housewife, 
was stitching away at some article of clothing ; 
Tcheitchenguak was repairing a harpoon for his son- 
in-law, and Angeit, the bright-eyed pest of the galley 
and the pantry, was busily engaged stowing away in a 
stomach largely disproportionate to the balance of his 
body, some bits of venison which looked very much as 
as if they had recently been surreptitiously obtained 
from a forbidden corner of the steward's store-room. 



ESQUIMAU PRESENTS. 245 

In consideration for the kindness which 1 had shown 
these people, they gave me a set of their hunting and 
domestic implements, the principal of them being a 
lance, harpoon, coil of line, a rabbit-trap, a lamp, pot, 
flint and steel, with some lamp-wick and tinder. The 
lance was a wooden shaft, probably from Dr. Kane's 
lost ship, the Advance, with an iron spike lashed firmly 
to one end of it, and a piece of walrus tusk, shod with 
sharp iron, at the other. The harpoon staff was a 
narwal tooth or horn, six feet long, — a very hard 
and solid piece of ivory, and perfectly straight. The 
harpoon head was a piece of walrus tusk, three inches 
long, with a hole through the centre for the line, a 
hole into one end for the sharpened point of the staff, 
and at the other end it was, like the lance-head, tipped 
with iron. The line was simply a strijD of raw seal- 
hide about fifty feet long, and was made by a contin- 
uous cut around the body of the seal. The rabbit- 
trap was merely a seal-skin hue with a multitude of 
loops dangling from it. The lamp was a shallow dish 
of soft soap-stone, in shape not unlike a clam-shell, 
and was eight inches by six. The pot was a square- 
sided vessel of the same material. The flint was a 
piece of hard granite, the steel a lump of crude iron 
pyrites, the wick was dried moss, and the tinder the 
delicate down-like covering of the willow catkins. 

Tcheitchenguak told me that he was preparing the 
lances for a walrus hunt, and that he and Hans in- 
tended to try their skill on the morrow. The walrus 
had been very numerous in the open waters outside 
the harbor all through the winter, and their shrill cry 
could be heard at almost any time from the margin 
of the ice. The flesh of these animals is the staple 
food of the Esquimaux ; and although they prize the 



246 A WALRUS HUNT. 

flesh of the reindeer, yet it is much as we do " canvas- 
backs ; " and, for a long and steady pull, there is noth- 
ing like the " Awak," as they call the walrus, in imi- 
tation of its cry. To them its flesh is what rice is to 
the Hindoo, beef to the Gouchos of Buenos Ayres, or 
mutton to the Tartars of Mongolia. 

The proposed hunt came ofl* successfully. Hans 
and the old man set out with all of their tackle in fine 
order, and found a numerous herd of walrus swim- 
ming near the edge of the ice. They were approached 
with caution, on all fours, and were not alarmed. The 
hunters reached within a few feet of the water. They 
both then lay down flat on the ice and imitated the 
cry of the animals of which they were in pursuit; 
and the whole herd was soon brought by this means 
within easy reach of the harpoon. Eising suddenly, 
Hans buried his weapon in a good-sized beast, while his 
companion held fast to the line and secured his end 
of it with the iron spike of a lance-staff, which he 
drove into the ice and held down firmly. The beast 
struggled hard to free itself, floundering and plung- 
ing like a wild bull held by a lasso, but all without 
avail. With every opportunity Hans took in the slack 
of the line and secured it, and at length the strug- 
gling prey was within twenty feet of the hunters. 
The lance and rifle now did their work very expedi- 
tiously ; the frightened comrades of the dj'ing animal 
rushed away through the waters with loud cries of 
alarm, their deep bass voices sounding strangely 
through the darkness. The edge of the ice proved 
to be too thin to bear the captured game, and, having 
secured it with a line, it was allowed to remain until 
the following day, when, the ice having thickened 
with the low temperature, the flesh was chopped out 



A SEASON OF PLENTY. 



247 



and brought in. The snow-hut now rejoiced in a sup- 
ply of food and blubber sufficient to last its inmates 
for a long time to come ; the dogs were refreshed 
with a substantial meal ; and the head and skin were 
put into a barrel and labeled " Smithsonian." 




CHAPTER XX. 

LOOKING FOR THE SUN. — THE OPEN SEA. — BIRDS. 

While the days were thus running on, the sun was 
crawling up toward the horizon, and each returning 
noon brought an increase of hght. I carried in my 
pocket at all times a little book, and early in Febru- 
ary I began to experiment with it. When I could 
read the title-page at noon I was much rejoiced. By 
and by the smaller letters could be puzzled out ; then 
I could decipher with ease the finest print, and the 
youngsters were in great glee at being able to read 
the thermometers at eleven and twelve and one 
o'clock without the lantern. On the 10th of Feb- 
ruary I made the following memorandum on the mar- 
gin of my book : " Almost broad daylight at noon, 
and I read this page at 3 o'clock P. M." My calcula- 
tions placed the sun at the horizon on the 18th. 

The appearance of the sun became now the one 
absorbing event. About it everybody thought and 
everybody talked continually. No set of men ever 
looked more eagerly for a coming joy than did we for 
the promised morn, — we, half-bloodless beings, com- 
ing from the night, bleached in the long-continued 
lamp-light, and almost as colorless as potato-sprouts 
growing in a dark cellar. We aU noted how to-day 
compared with yesterday, and contrasted it with this 
day a week ago. Even the old cook, caught the con- 



LOOKING FOR THE SUN. 249 

tagion, and crawled up from among his saucepans and 
coppers, and, shading his eyes with his stove-hardened 
hands, peered out into the growing twihght. " I tinks 
dis be very long night," said he, " and I likes once 
more to see de blessed sun." The steward was in a 
state of chronic excitement. He could not let the 
sun rest in peace for an hour. He must watch for 
him constantly. He must be forever running up on 
deck and out on the ice, book in hand, trying to read 
by the returning daylight. He was impatient with 
the time. "Don't the Commander think the sun will 
come back sooner than the 18th ? " " Don't he think 
it will come back on the 17th?" "Was he quite sure 
that it would n't appear on the 16th ? " "I 'm afraid, 
steward, we must rely upon the Nautical Almanac." 
" But might n't the Nautical Almanac be wrong ? " 
— and I could clearly perceive that he thought m}^ 
ciphering might be wrong too. 

Meanwhile we were tormented with another set of 
gales, and we could scarcely stir abroad. The ice was 
all broken up in the outer bay, and the open sea came 
nearer to us than during any previous period of the 
winter. The ice was nearly all driven out of the bay, 
and the broad, dark, bounding water was not only in 
sight from the deck, but I could almost drop a minie- 
ball into it from my rifle, while standing on the poop. 
Even the ice in the inner harbor was loosened around 
the shore, and, thick and solid though it was, I thought 
at one time that there was danger of its giving way 
and going bodily out to sea. 

Strange, too, along the margin of this water there 
came a flock of speckled birds to shelter themselves 
under the lee of the shore, and to warm their lit- 
tle feet in the waters which the winds would not let 



250 ARCTIC BIRDS. 

freeze, Thej were the DoveJde of Southern Green- 
land, — the Uria grylle of the naturalist. They are 
often seen about Disco Island and Upernavik in the 
winter time, but I was much surprised to find them 
denizens of the Arctic nio-ht so near the Pole. It was 
a singular sight to see them paddling about in the 
caves, under the ice-foot, at 30'' below zero, uttering 
their plaintive cry, and looking for all the world like 
homeless children, shoeless and in rags, crouching for 
shelter beneath a door-stoop on a bleak December 
night, I wanted one of them badly for a specimen, 
but it would have required something stronger than 
the claims of science to have induced me to harm a 
feather of their trembling little heads. 




CHAPTER XXL 

SUNRISE. 

February 18th. 

Heaven be praised ! I have once more seen the 
sun. 

Knowing that the sun would appear to-day, every- 
body was filled with expectation, and hastened off 
after breakfast to some favorite spot where it was 
thoua;ht that he mio;ht be seen. Some went in the 
right direction, and were gratified ; others went in 
the wrong direction, and were disappointed. Knorr 
and others, of the officers climbed the hills above Etah. 
Charley limbered up his rheumatic old legs, and tried 
to get a view from the north side of the harbor, for- 
getting that the mountains intervened. Harris and 
Heywood climbed to the top of the hill behind the 
harbor, and the former shook his Odd Fellow's flag 
in the sun's very face. The cook was troubled that 
he did not have a look at " de blessed sun ; " but he 
could not gratify his wish without going upon the 
land, and this he could no more be induced to do 
than the mountain could be persuaded to come to 
Mahomet. He will probably have to wait until the 
sun steals over the hills into the harbor, which will 
be at least twelve days. 

My own share in the day's excitement has been 
equal to the rest of them. Accompanied by Dodge 



252 SUNRISE. 

and Jensen, I set out at an early hour toward a point 
on the north side of the bay, from which I could com- 
mand a view of the southern horizon. We had much 
difficulty in reaching our destination. The open 
water came nearly a mile within the point for which 
we were bound, and it was no easy task picking our 
way along the sloping drifts of the ice-foot. But we 
were at last successful, and reached our look-out sta- 
tion (hereafter to be known as Sunrise Point) with 
half an hour to spare. 

The day was far from a pleasant one for a holiday 
excursion. The temperature was very low, and the 
wind, blowing quite freshly, brought the drifting snow 
down from the mountains, and rattled it about us 
rather sharply. But we were amply repaid by the 
view which was spread out before us. 

An open sea lay at our feet and stretched far away 
to the front and right of us as we faced the south. 
Numerous bergs were dotted over it, but otherwise it 
was mainly free from ice. Its surface was much agi- 
tated by the winds, which kept it from freezing, and 
the waves were dancing in the cold air as if in very 
mockery of the winter. It was indeed a vast bubbling 
caldron, — seething, and foaming, and emitting vapors. 
The light curling streams of " frost smoke " which 
rose over it sailed away on the wind toward the 
southwest, and there mingled with a dark mist-bank. 
Little streams of young ice, as if struggling to bind 
the waves, rattled and crackled over the restless 
waters. To the left, the lofty coast mountains stood 
boldly up in the bright air, and near Cape Alexander 
the glacier peeped from between them, coming down 
the valley with a gentle slope from the broad mer de 
glace. The bold front of Crystal Palace Cliffs cut 



SUNRISE. 253 

sharply against this line of whiteness, and the dark, 
gloomy walls of Cape Alexander rose squarely from 
the sea. Upon the crests of the silent hills, and over 
the white-capped cape, light clouds lazily floated, and 
through these the sun was pouring a stream of golden 
fire, and the whole southern heavens were ablaze with 
the splendor of the coming day. 

The point of Cape Alexander lay directly south of 
us, and the sun would appear from behind it at ex- 
actly the meridian hour, — rolling along the horizon, 
with only half its disk above the line of waters. We 
awaited the approaching moment with much eager- 
ness. Presently a ray of light burst through the soft 
mist-clouds which lay off to the right of us opposite 
the ca^oe, blending them into a purple sea and glis- 
tening upon the silvery summits of the tall icebergs, 
which pierced the vapory cloak as if to catch the 
coming warmth. The ray approached us nearer and 
nearer, the purple sea widened, the glittering spires 
multiplied, as one after another they burst in quick 
succession into the blaze of day ; and as this marvelous 
change came over the face of the sea, we felt that the 
shadow of the cape was the shadow of the night, and 
that the night was passing away. Soon the dark-red 
cliffs behind us glowed with a warm coloring, the hills 
and the mountains stood forth in their new robes of 
resplendent brightness, and the tumbling waves melt- 
ed away from their angry harshness, and laughed in 
the sunshine. And now the line of the shadow was 
in sight. " There it is upon the point," cried Jensen. 
" There it is upon the ice-foot," answered Dodge, — 
there at our feet lay a sheet of sparkling gems, and 
the sun burst broadly in our faces. Off went our 
caps with a simultaneous impulse, and we hailed this 



254 SUNRISE. 

long-lost wanderer of the heavens with loud demon- 
strations of joy. 

And now we were bathing in the atmosphere of 
other days. The friend of all hopeful as,^ociations had 
come back again to put a new glow into our hearts. 
He had returned after an absence of one hundred and 
twenty-six days to revive a slumbering world ; and as 
I looked upon his face again, after this long interval, 
I did not wonder that there should be men to bow the 
knee and worship him and proclaim him " The eye of 
God." The parent of light and life everywhere, he is 
the same within these solitudes. The germ awaits 
him here as in the Orient ; but there it rests only 
throuo-h the short hours of a summer nio-ht, while 
here it reposes for months under a sheet of snows. 
But after a while the bright sun will tear this sheet 
asunder, and will tumble ic in gushing fountains to 
the sea, and will kiss the cold earth, and give it 
warmth and life ; and the flowers will bud and bloom, 
and will turn their tiny faces smilingly and gratefully 
up to him, as he wanders over these ancient hills 
in the long summer. The very glaciers will weep 
tears of joy at his coming. The ice will loose its 
iron grip upon the waters, and will let the wild waves 
play in freedom. The reindeer will skip gleefully 
over the mountains to welcome his coming, and will 
look longingly to him for the green pastures. The 
sea-fowls, knowing that he will give them a resting- 
place for their feet on the rocky islands, will come to 
seek the moss-beds which he spreads for their nests ; 
and the sparrows will come on his life-giving rays, and 
will sing their love songs through the endless day. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

SPKIWa TWILIGHT.— ARRIVAL OF ESQUIMAUX. — OBTAINING DOGS. — KALUTU- 
NAH, TATTARAT, MYOUK, AMALATOK AND HIS SON. — AN ARCTIC HOSPI- 
TAL. —ESQUIMAU GRATITUDE. 

My time became now fully occupied with prepara- 
tions for my journey northward. The sun appearing 
on the 18th, as recorded in the last chapter, rose com- 
pletely above the horizon on the next day, was some- 
thing higher the day following, and, continuing to 
ascend in steady progression, we had soon several 
hours of broad daylight before and after noon, al- 
though the sun did not for some time come in sight 
above the hills on the south side of the harbor. The 
long dreary night was passing away; we had wdth 
each succeeding day an increase of light, and the 
spring twilight was merging slowly into the continual 
sunshine of the summer, as we had before seen the 
autumn twilight pass into the continued darkness of 
the winter. 

The details of my preparations for traveling would 
have little interest to the reader, and I pass them 
over. It is proper, however, that I should recur to 
the situation in which I found myself, now that the 
traveling season had opened. 

The dogs, five in number, which Hans brought back 
from the southern journey, had recovered, and did not 
appear to have been materially injured ; but there 
were not enough of them to furnish a serviceable 



256 AERIVAL OF ESQUIMAUX. 

team for one sledge. They were therefore of Httle 
use ; and it became clear that, unless I obtained a 
fresh supply from the Esquimaux, any plan of sledge 
exploration which I might form must depend wholly 
upon the men for its execution. Men, instead of dogs, 
must drag the sledges. 

The Esquimaux had disappointed me by not com- 
ing up to Etah • and, February having almost passed 
away without bringing reinforcements from that quar- 
ter, I had quite given up the expectation of seeing 
them, when a party of three arrived most oppor- 
tunely. This gave me new encouragement; for, al- 
though I could not hope to replace the fine teams 
which I had lost, yet there was still a prospect of 
some much-needed assistance. 

The Esquimau party comprised three individuals, 
all of whom I had known before. Their names were 
Kalutunah, Tattarat, and Myouk. Kalutunah was, in 
1854, the best hunter of the tribe, and was, besides, 
the Angekok, or priest. He was not slow to tell me 
that he had since advanced to the dignity of chiel^ or 
Nalegak, an office which, however, gave him no au- 
thority, as the Esquimaux are each a law unto him- 
self, and they submit to no control. The title is 
about as vasrue as that of " Defender of the Faith ; " 
and the parallel is not altogether bad, for if this latter 
did originate in a Latin treatise about the " Seven 
Sacraments," it was perpetuated by a sharp sword ; 
and so the title chief, or Nalegak as they call it, is the 
compliment paid to the most skillful hunter, and his 
title is perpetuated by skill in the use of a sharp har- 
poon. 

The excellence of Kalutunah's hunting equipments 
— his strong lines and lances and harpoons, his fine 



ESQUIMAU TEAMS. 257 

sledge and hearty, sleek dogs — bore ample evidence 
of the sagacity of the tribe. Tattarat was a very dif- 
ferent style of person. His name signifies " The Kitti- 
wake Gull," and a more fitting title could hardly have 
been bestowed upon him, for he was the perfect type 
of that noisy, chattering, graceful bird, thriftless to 
the last degree ; and, like many another kittiwake 
gull or Harold Skimpole of society, he was, in spite 
of thieving and other arts, always " out at elbows." 
Myouk was not unlike him, only that he was worse, 
if possible. He was, in truth, one of Satan's regularly 
enlisted light-infantry, and was as full of tricks as 
Asmodeus himself 

The party came up on two sledges. Kalutunah 
drove one and Tattarat the other. Kalutunah's team 
was his own. Of the other team, two dogs belonged 
to Tattarat, one was borrowed, and the fourth was the 
property of Myouk. It is curious to observe how the 
same traits of character exhibit themselves in all peo- 
ples, and by the same evidences. While Kalutunah 
came in with his dogs loolving fresh and in fine condi- 
tion, with strong traces and solid sledge, the team of 
Tattarat was a set of as lean and hungry-looking curs 
as ever was seen, their traces all knotted and tangled, 
and the sledge rickety and almost tumbling to pieces. 
They had traveled all the way from Iteplik without 
halting, except for a short rest at Sorfalik. They 
declared that they had not tasted food since leaving 
their homes ; and if the appetite should govern the 
belief, I thought that there was no ground for doubt- 
ing, since they made away with the best part of a 
quarter of venison, the swallowing of which was much 
aided by sundry chunks of walrus blubber, before 

17 



258 KALUTUNAH. 

they rolled over among the reindeer skins of Tchei- 
tchenguak's hut and slept. 

Next morning I had Kakitunah brought to my 
cabin,, thinking to treat him with that distinguished 
consideration due to his exalted rank. But caution 
was necessary. For a stool I gave him a keg, and I was 
particularly careful that his person should not come in 
contact with any thing else, for under the ample furs of 
this renowned chief there were roamino- o-reat droves 
of creeping things, for which no learned lexicographer 
has yet invented a polite name, and so I cannot fur- 
ther describe them. Nor can I adequately describe 
the man himself, as he sat upon the keg, his body 
hidden in a huge fur coat, with its great hood, and his 
legs and feet inserted in long-haired bear-skin, — the 
whole costume differing little from the hitherto de- 
scribed dress of the dark-faced Tcheitchenguak. He 
was a study for a painter. No child could have ex- 
hibited more unbounded delight, had all the toys of 
Nuremberg been tumbled into one heap before him. 
To picture his face with any thing short of a skillful 
brush were an impossible task. It was not comely 
like that of " Yilliers with the flaxen hair," nor yet 
handsome like that of the warrior chief Nireus, whom 
Homer celebrates as the handsomest man in the whole 
Greek army, (and never mentions afterwards,) nor 
was it like Ossian's chief, " the changes of whose face 
were as various as the shadows which fly over the 
field of grass ; " but it was bathed in the sunshine of 
a broad grin. Altogether it was quite characteris- 
tic of his race, although expressing a much higher 
type of manhood than usual. The features differed 
only in degree from those of Tcheitchenguak, hereto- 
fore described ; the skin was less dark, the face 



A DIRTY POTENTATE. 259 

broader, the cheek-bones higher, the nose flatter and 
more curvedj the upper lip longer, the month wider, 
the eyes even smaller, contracting when he laughed 
into scarcely distinguishable slits. Upon his long 
upper lip grew a little hedge-row of black bristles, 
which did not curl gracefully nor droop languidly, but 
which stuck straiorht out like the whiskers of a cat. 
A few of the same sort radiated from his chin. I 
judged him to be about forty years old, and since 
soap and towels and the external application of water 
have not yet been introduced among the native inhab- 
itants of Whale Sound, these forty years had favored 
the accumulation of a coating to the skin, which, by 
the unequal operation of friction, had given his hands 
and face quite a spotted appearance. 

But if he was not handsome, he was not really 
ugly ; for, despite his coarse features and dirty face, 
there was a rugged sort of good-humor and frank sim- 
plicity about the fellow which pleased me greatly. 
His tono;ue was not inclined to rest. He must tell me 
every thing. His wife was still living, and had added 
two girls to the amount of his responsibilities ; but 
his face glowed with delight when I asked him about 
their first-born, whom I remembered in 1854 as a 
bright boy of some five or six summers, and he ex- 
hibited all of a father's just pride in the prospect of 
the lad's future greatness. Already he could catch 
birds, and was learning to drive dogs. 

I asked him about his old rival Sipsu, who once 
gave me much trouble, and was an endless source of 
inconvenience to Kalutunah. He was dead. When 
asked how he died, he was a little loath to tell, but he 
finally said that he had been killed. He had become 
very unpopular, and was stabbed one night in a dark 



260 A PRIMITIVE TREATY. 

hut, and, bleeding from a mortal wound, had been 
dragged out and buried in the stones and snow, where 
the cold and the hurt together soon terminated as 
well his life as his mischief 

Death had made fearful ravages among his people 
since I had seen them five years before, and he com- 
plained bitterly of the hardships of the last winter, in 
consequence of a great deficiency of dogs, the same 
distemper which swept mine oft' having attacked those 
of his people. Indeed, the disease appears to have 
been universal throughout the entire length of Green- 
land. But notwithstanding this poverty, he under- 
took to supply me with some animals, in return for 
which I was to make liberal presents; and, as a proof 
of his sincerity, he offered me two of the four which 
composed his present team. From Tattarat I after- 
wards purchased one of his three, and for a fine knife 
I obtained the fourth one of that hunter's team, the 
property of Myouk, and the only dog that he pos- 
sessed. 

The hunters were all well pleased with their bar- 
gains, for they went away rich in iron, knives, and 
needles, — wealth to them more valuable than would 
have been all the vast piles of treasure with which 
the Inca Atahuallpa sought to satisfy the rapacious 
Pizarro, or the lacs of rupees with which the luck- 
less Rajah Nuncomar strove to free himself from the 
clutches of the remorseless Hastings. And we had 
made a treaty of peace and friendship, and had rati- 
fied it by a solemn promise, befitting a Nalegak and a 
Nalegaksoak. The Nalegak was to furnish the Nale- 
gaksoak with dogs, and the Nalegaksoak was to pay 
for them. This exceedingly simple treaty may at 
first strike the reader with surprise ; but I feel sure 



OBTAINING DOGS. 261 

that that surprise will vanish when he recalls the 
memorable historical parallel of Burgoyne and his 
Hessians. 

I did not tell Kalntunah that I wished only to be- 
stow benefits upon his people, for no one is more 
qnick to penetrate the hoUowness of such declarations 
than the "untutored savage." He is not so easily 
hoaxed with philanthropic sentiment as is generally 
supposed, and he fully recognizes the practical fea- 
tures of being expected to return a quid pro quo. But 
I did venture upon a little harmless imposition of 
another sort, giving him to understand that it was 
useless for the Esquimaux to attempt to deceive me, 
as I could read not only their acts but their thoughts 
as well ; and, in proof of my powers, I performed be- 
fore him some simple sleight-of-hand tricks, and after 
turning up a card with, much gravity told him exactly 
what (it was not much of a venture) Ootinah and his 
w^ood en-legged companion had stolen. He was much 
astonished, said that I was quite right about the steal- 
ing, for he had seen the stolen articles himself, and 
evidently thought me a wonderful magician. He 
owned to me that he did something in the jugglery 
business himself; but when I asked him about his 
journeys to the bottom of the sea, in his Angekok 
capacity, to break the spell by which the evil spirit 
Torngak holds within her anger the walrus and seal, 
in the days of famine, he very adroitly changed the 
subject, and began to describe a recent bear-hunt 
which appeared to amuse him greatly. The wounded 
animal broke away from the dogs, and, making a dive 
at one of the hunters, knocked the wind out of the 
unhappy man with a blow of his fore-paw. Kalutunah 
laughed heartily while relating the story, and seemed 
to think it a capital joke: 



262 AIT ARCTIC MICAWBER. 

Our savage guests remained with us a few days, 
and then set out for their homes, declaring their in- 
tention to come speedily back and bring more of 
the tribe and dogs. I drove out with them a few 
miles, and we parted on the ice. When about a mile 
away, I observed Myouk jump from the sledge to 
pick up something which he had dropped. No doubt 
rejoiced to be rid of this extra load on his rickety 
sledge, Tattarat whipped up his team, and the last I 
saw of poor Myouk he was running on, struggling 
manfully to catch up ; but, notwithstanding all his 
efforts, he was falling behind, and it is not unlikely 
that he was suffered to walk all the way to Iteplik. 

This Myouk was the same droll creature that he 
was when I knew him formerly, — a sort of Arctic 
Micawber, everlastingly waiting for something to turn 
up which never did turn up ; and, with much cheer- 
fulness, hoping for good luck which never came. He 
recited to me all of his hardships and misfortunes. 
His sledge was all broken to pieces, and he could not 
mend it ; his dogs were all dead except the one he 
sold to me ; he had stuck his harpoon into a walrus, 
and the line had parted, and the walrus carried it 
away ; he had lost his lance, and altogether his affairs 
were in a very lamentable state. His family were in 
great distress, as he could not catch any thing for 
them to eat, and so they had gone to Tattarat's hut. 
Tattarat was a poor hunter, and he made a terrible 
grimace, which told how great was his contempt for 
that doughty individual. So now he proposed, as soon 
as he got home, to try Kalutunah. To be sure, Kalu- 
tunah's establishment was pretty well filled already, 
there being not less than three families quartered 
there • but still, he thought there was room for one 



DOMESTIC FELICITY. 263 

family more. At all events, he should try it. And 
now would not the Nalegaksoak, — the big chief who 
w^as so rich and so mighty, be good enough to give 
him so many presents that he would go back and 
make everybody envious ? Human nature is the 
same in the Arctic as in the Temperate zone ; and, 
gratified w4th this discovery, I fairly loaded the rogue 
down with riches, and sent him away rejoicing. But 
this wife, what of her ? " Oh, she 's lazy and will not 
do any thing, and made me come all this long journey 
to get her some needles which she v/on't use, and a 
knife which she has no use for; and now when I go 
back without any dog, won't I catch it!" — and he 
caught hold of his tongue and pulled it as far out of 
his mouth as he could get it, trying in this graphic 
manner to illustrate the length of that aggressive 
organ in the wife of his bosom. " But," added this 
savage Benedict, "she has a ragged coat, so full of 
holes that she cannot go out of the hut without fear 
of freezing ; and if she scolds me too much I won't 
give her any of these needles, and I v\^on't catch her 
any foxes to make a new one ; " — but it was easy to 
see that the needles would not be long withheld, and 
that the foxes would be caug-ht when he was told to 
catch them. And so pitying his domestic misfortunes, 
I added some presents for this amiable creature of the 
ragged coat ; and when he told me that she had pre- 
sented him with an heir to the Myouk miseries, I 
added something for that, too. This little hopeful, he 
informed nie, w\as already being weaned from its nat- 
ural and maternal supplies, and was exhibiting great 
aptitude for blubber. He had called it Dak-ta-gee, 
which was the nearest that he could come to pro- 
nouncing Doctor Kane. 



264 ESQUIMAU GRATITUDE, 

Kalutunah and his companions had scarcely been 
gone when another sledge came, bringing two more 
Esquimaux, — Amalatok, of Northumberland Island, 
and his son. They had four dogs ; and having stopped 
on the way to catch a walrus, part of which they had 
brought with them, they were much fatigued ; and, 
having got wet in securing the prize, they were cold 
and a little frozen. Both were for several days quite 
sick in Tcheitchenguak's snow-hut, and I had at last 
a patient, and the snow-hut became a sort of hospital, 
for old Tcheitchenguak was sick too. I either visited 
them myself or sent Mr. Knorr twice daily ; but the 
odor of the place becoming at length too much for 
that gentleman's aristocratic nose, I could no longer 
prescribe by proxy, and so went myself and cured my 
patients very speedily, winning great credit as a Nar- 
kosak, the " medicine man," in addition to being the 
Nalegaksoak, "the big chief" Amalatok thought at 
one time that he was going to die, and indeed I be- 
came sincerely alarmed about my reputation ; but he 
came round all right in the end, and, strange though 
it may appear, his memory actually outlived the ser- 
vice long enough for him to do more than to say 
" Koyanak," — "I thank you ; " — that is to say, as 
soon as he could get about he brought me his best 
dog, and, in token of gratitude, made me a present of 
it. Afterward, upon the offer of some substantial gifts, 
he sold me another, and he went home as rich as the 
party that had preceded him, and happy as Moses 
Primrose returning from the fair with his gross of 
shagreen spectacles. 

And thus my kennels were being once more filled 
up, and my heart was rejoiced. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

KALUTUNAH RETUKNS. — AN ESQUIMAU FAMILY. — THE FAMILY PROPERTY.— 
THE FAIVHLY WARDROBE. — MYOUK AND HIS WIFE. — PETER'S DEAD BODY 
FOUND. — MY NEW TEAMS. — THE SITUATION. — HUNTING. — SUBSISTENCE 
OF ARCTIC ANIMALS. —PURSUIT OF SCIENCE UNDER DIFFICULTIES. —KA- 
LUTUNAH AT HOME. —AN ESQUIMAU FEAST. —KALUTUNAH IN SERVICE,— 
RECOVERING THE BODY OF MR. SONNTAG.— THE FUNERAL. — THE TOMB. 

Kalutunah came back after a few days, according 
to his promise, and brought along with him the entire 
Kalutunah. family, consisting of his wife and four chil- 
dren. It was a regular " moving." 

The chief had managed in some manner to get to- 
gether another team of six good dogs, and he came 
up in fine style, bringing along with him on his small 
sledge every thing that he had in the world, and that 
was not much. The conveniences for life's comforts 
possessed by these Arctic nomads are not numerous ; 
and it is fortunate that their desires so well accord 
with their means of gratifying them, for probably no 
people in the world possess so little, either of porta- 
ble or other kind of property. The entire cargo of 
the sledge consisted of parts of two bear-skins, the 
family bedding ; a half-dozen seal-skins, the family 
tent ; two lances and two harpoons ; a few substantial 
harpoon lines ; a couple of lamps and pots ; some im- 
plements and materials for repairing the sledge in the 
event of accident ; a small seal-skin bag, containing 
the family wardrobe (that is, the implements for re- 
pairing it, for the entire wardrobe was on their backs) ; 



266 AN ESQUIMAU FAMILY. 

and then there was a roll of dried grass, which they 
use as we do cork soles for the boots, and some dried 
moss for lamp-wick ; and for food they had a few 
small pieces of walrus meat and blubber. This cargo 
was covered with one of the seal-skins, over which 
was passed from side to side a line, like a sandal-lacing, 
and the whole was bound down compactly to the 
sledge ; and on the top of it rode the family, Kalutu- 
nah himself walking alongside and encouraging on 
his team rather with kind persuasion than with the 
usual Esquimau cruelty. In front sat the mother, 
the finest specimen of the Esquimau matron that I 
had seen. In the large hood of her fox-skin coat, a 
sort of dorsal opbssum-pouch, nestled a sleeping in- 
fant. Close beside the mother sat the boy to whom I 
have before referred, their first-born, and the father's 
pride. Next came a girl, about seven years old ; and 
another, a three year old, was wrapped up in an im- 
mense quantity of furs, and was lashed to the up- 
standers. 

As the • sleclge rounded to, near the vessel, I went 
out to meet them. The children were at first a little 
frightened, but they were soon got to laugh, and I 
found that the same arts which win the aftections of 
Christian babies were equally potent with the hea- 
then. The wife remembered me well, and called me 
" Doc-tee," while Kalutunah, grinning all over with 
delight, pointed to his dogs, exclaiming with pride, 
" They are fine ones ! " to which I readily assented ; 
and then he added, " I come to give them all to the 
Nalegaksoak ; " and to this I also assented. 

What surprised me most with this fiimily was their 
apparent indifference to the cold. They had come 
from Iteplik in slow marches, stopping when tired in 



MYOUK AND FAMILY. 267 

a snow shelter, or in deserted huts, and during this 
time our thermometers were ranging from 30° to 40° 
below zero ; and when thej came on board out of 
this temperature it never seemed to occur to them to 
warm themselves, but they first wandered all over the 
ship, satisfying their curiosity. 

A few hours afterward there arrived a family of 
quite another description, — Myouk and his wife of 
the ragged coat. They had walked all the way up 
from Iteplik, the woman carrying her baby on her 
back all of these hundred and fifty miles. Myouk 
was evidently at a loss to find an excuse for paying 
me this visit ; but he put a bold front on, and, like 
Kalutnnah, discovered a reason. " I come to show 
the Nalegaksoak my wife and Daktagee," pointing to 
the dowdy, dirty creature that owned him for a hus- 
band, and the forlorn being that owned him for a 
father. Bnt when he perceived that I was not likely 
to pay much for the sight, he timidly remarked, with 
another significant point, " She made me come," and 
then started ofi', doubtless to see what he could steal. 

My arrangements were soon concluded with Kalu- 
tunah. He was to live over in the hut at Etah, to do 
such hunting as he could without the aid of his dogs, 
all of which he loaned to me ; but, in any event, my 
stores were to be his reliance, and I bound myself to 
supply him with all that he required for the support 
of himself and his family. 

On the following day the hut at Etah was cleared 
out and put in order, and this interesting family took 
up their abode there, while Myouk, as eager to j)lace 
himself under the protection of a man high in favor 
as if his skin had been white and he knew the mean- 
ing of " public office " and lived nearer the equator. 



268 PETER'S DEAD BODY. 

followed the great man to his new abode, and crawled 
into a corner of his den as coolly as if he was a de- 
serving fellow, and not the most arrant little knave 
and beggar that ever sponged on worth and industry. 

Kaliitunah brought a solution of the Peter mystery. 
As soon as the daylight began to come back, one of 
the Iteplik hunters, named Nesark, determined to 
travel up to Peteravik, and there try his fortunes in 
the seal hunt. Arriving at the hut (these Esquimau 
huts are common property) at that place, he was sur- 
prised to discover, lying on the floor, a much ema- 
ciated corpse. It was that of an Esquimau dressed 
in white man's clothing, and the description left no 
doubt that it was the body of Peter. Nesark gave it 
Esquimau burial. And thus, after the lapse of three 
months, this strange story was brought to a close ; 
but I was still as far as ever from an explanation of 
the hapless boy's strange conduct. 

I had now become the possessor of seventeen dogs, 
and avv^aited only one principal event to set out on a 
preliminary journey northward. The sea had not yet 
closed about Sunrise Point, and I could not get out 
of the bay on that side. To travel over the laud was, 
owing to its great roughness, impracticable for a 
sledge, even if without cargo ; and to round the Point 
at that season of the year, through the broken ice and 
rough sea, in an open boat, was, for obvious reasons, 
not to be thought of 

My plan had always been to set out with my prin- 
cipal party, when the temperature had begun to 
moderate toward the summer, which was likely to be 
about the first of April ; but I had looked forward to 
doing some serviceable work with my dogs prior to 
that time. March is the coldest month of the Arctic 



THE SITUATION. 269 

year ; but while I had no hesitation in setting out 
with dog-sledges at that period, the recollection of 
Dr. Kane's disasters were too fresh in my mind to 
justifj^ me in sending out a foot party in the March 
temperatures. 

While waiting for the frost to build a bridge for me 
around Sunrise Point, I was feeding up and strength- 
ening my dogs. They soon proved to be very infe- 
rior to the animals which I had lost, and it was neces- 
sary to give them as much rest and good rations as 
possible. I went repeatedly to Chester Valley in pur- 
suit of reindeer. Along the borders of the lake these 
beasts had flocked in great numbers during the win- 
ter, and whole acres of snow had been tossed np with 
their hoofs, while searching for the dead vegetation 
of the previous summer. The rabbits and the ptar- 
migan had followed them, to gather the buds of the 
willow-stems which were occasionally tossed up, and 
which form their subsistence. During one of my 
journeys I secured a fine specimen skin of a doe, but 
in order to do this I was oblisred to take it off with 
my own hands before it should freeze. The tempera- 
ture at the time was 33° below zero, and I do not ever 
remember to have had my regard for Natural History 
so severely tested. 

I was exceedingly anxious to recover the body of 
Mr. Sonntag before I left the vessel ; and, desiring to 
secure the assistance of Kalutunah for that purpose, I 
drove over to Etah a few days after he had become 
fixed there. I had eleven of my new dogs harnessed 
to the sledge, and Jensen " was himself again." 

I found Kalutunah very comfortably fixed and appa- 
rently well contented. I carried with me as a present 
for a house-warming a quarter of a recently-captured 



270 KALUTUNAH AT HOME. 

deer, and a couple of gallons of oil. Observing our 
approach, he came out to meet us, and, some snow 
having drifted into the passage, he scraped it away 
with his foot, and invited us to enter. This we did 
on our hands and knees, through a sort of tunnel 
about twelve feet long ; and thence we emerged into 
a dimly lighted den, where, coiled up in a nest of rein- 
deer-skins which I had given them, was the family of 
the chief and the wife and baby of Myouk. Kalutu- 
nah's wife was stitching away quite swiftly at a pair 
of boots for my use, and I brought her some more 
"work," and also some presents, among which was a 
string of beads and a looking-glass, which much 
amused the children. Myouk's wife, on the other 
hand, was quite idle, not even looking after her child, 
which, startled by our approach, rolled down on the 
floor about our feet, and thence into the entrance 
among the snow which lay scattered along the pas- 
sage. The poor little creature, being almost naked, 
set up a terrible scream, and its amiable mother, 
promptly seizing it by one of its legs, hauled it up 
and crammed into its mouth a chunk of blubber which 
quickly stopped its noise. 

Both this woman and her husband were evidently 
a great annoyance to the frugal proprietors of the 
hut ; but, with a generous practice of hospitality 
which I have not found elsewhere, in history or fic- 
tion, except in Cedric the Saxon, such a worthless 
crew are suffered to settle themselves upon a thrifty 
family without fear of being turned out of doors. 

I sat for some time talking to Kalutunah and his 
industrious wife. There was not room, it was true, 
with so many people in the hut, to be greatly at one's 
ease, and I had to dodge my head when I moved, to 



A MORNING CALL. 271 

keep from striking the stone rafters. Besides, the 
smell of the place had rather a tendency to fill one's 
mind with longings for the open air ; but I managed 
to remain long enough to conclude some important 
arrangements with iJiy ally and his useful spouse, and 
then I took my leave with mutual protestations of 
friendship and good-will. I said to him at parting, 
••' You' are chief and I am chief, and we will both tell 
our respective people to be good to each other-" but 
he answered, " Na, na, I am chief, but you are the 
great chief, and the Esquimaux will do what you say. 
The Esquimaux like you, and are your friends. You 
make them many presents." I might have told him 
that this all-powerful method of inspiring friendship 
was not alone applicable to Esquimaux. 

This visit was a pleasant little episode. I was much 
pleased at the honest heartiness with which Kalutu- 
nah entered into my plans ; while the childish sim- 
plicity of his habits and" the frankness of his declara- 
tions won for him a conspicuous place in my regard. 

He was greatly amused with our guns, and begged 
for one of them, declaring that he could sit in his hut 
and kill the reindeer as they passed by. He would 
put the gun through the window, and he pointed to a 
hole in the wall about a foot square, where the light 
was admitted through a thin slab of hard snow. In 
the centre of it he had made a round orifice, which he 
said, laughingly, was for the purpose of looking out 
for the Nalegaksoak, — a well-turned compliment, if 
it did come from a savage, and all the more adroit 
that the orifice was really for ventilation, at least it 
was the only opening by which the foul air could pos- 
sibly escape. Both himself and wife were highly de- 
lighted with the presents which I had brought them. 



272 AN ESQUIMAU FEAST. 

Although they are surrounded by reindeer, venison is 
a kixury which they rarely enjoy, as they possess no 
means of capturing the animals. They have not the 
bows and arrows of the Esquimaux of some other 
localities. Without waiting for it to be cooked, Kalu- 
tunah commenced a vigorous attack upon the raw, 
frozen flesh. His wife and children were not slow to 
follow his example, crowding round it where it lay on 
the dirty floor ; and, without halting for an invitation, 
Mrs. Myouk joined in the feast. And I have never 
witnessed a feast which seemed to give so much satis- 
faction to the actors in it, not even hungry aldermen 
at a corporation banquet. Kalutunah was grinning 
all over witli delight. He was eminentlj^ happy. His 
teeth were unintermittingly crushing the hard kernels 
which he chipped from the frozen " leg," and a steady 
stream of the luscious fo.od was pouring down his 
throat. His tongue had little chance, but now and 
then it got loose from the venison tangle, and then I 
heard much of the greatness and the goodness of the 
Nalegaksoak. The man's enjoyment was a pleasant 
thing to behold. 

But if the reindeer-leg gave satisfaction, the oil 
gave comfort. The hut was dark and chilly, not hav- 
ing yet become thoroughly thawed out. Kalutunah 
now thought that he could afford another lamp, and 
in a few minutes after we had entered a fresh blaze 
was burning in the corner. I have before explained 
that the Esquimau lamp is only a shallow dish, cut 
out of a block of soap-stone. The dried moss which 
they use for wick is arranged around the edge, and 
the blaze therefrom gives their only light and heat. 
Over the lamps hung pots of the same soap-stone, and 
into these Mrs, Kalutunah put some snow, that she 



MY ESQUIMAU PEOPLE. 273 

might have the water for a venison-soup, of which she 
invited us to stay and partake. I knew by former 
experience too well the nature of the Esquimau cui- 
sine to make me anxious to learn further, so I plead 
business, and left them to enjoy themselves in their 
own way. How long they kept up their feast I did 
not learn, but when Kalutunah came over next morn- 
ing, he informed me that there was no. more venison 
in the hut at Etah, — a hint which was not thrown 
away. 

My Esquimau people now numbered seventeen 
souls ; namely, six men, four women, and seven chil- 
dren ; and they presented as many different shades 
of character and usefulness. The inconveniences to 
which they subjected us were amply compensated for 
by the sewing which the wives of Kalutunah and 
Tcheitchenguak did for us; for, in spite of all our in- 
genuity and patience, there was no one in the ship's 
company who could make an Esquimau boot, and this 
boot is the only suitable covering for the foot in the 
Arctic regions. Of the men, Hans was the most use- 
ful; for, in spite of his objectionable qualities, he was, 
Jensen excepted, my best hunter. Kalutunah came 
on board daily, and, as a privileged guest, he sought 
me in my cabin. My journey over to Etah made him 
supremely happy; for, like the sound of coming bat- 
tle to the warrior who has long reposed in peace, a 
new life was put into him when I offered him the care 
of one of my newly acquired teams. He came on 
board the next morning and took charge of the dogs ; 
and when, a few days afterward, I further exhibited 
my confidence in him by sending him down to Cape 
Alexander to see if the ice was firm, the cu23 of his 
joy was full to the brim. 



274 RECOVERY OF SONI^-TAG'S BODY. 

The report of Kalutunah being favorable, I dis- 
patched Mr. Dodge to bring up the body of Mr. 
Sonntag. He took the two teams, Kalutunah driving 
one and Hans the other. 

Mr. Dodge performed the journey with skill and 
energy. He reached Sorfalik in five hours, and had 
no difficulty in finding the locality of which they were 
in search, Hans remembering it by a large rock, or 
rather cliff, in the lee of which they had . built their 
snow-hut. But the winds had since piled the snow 
over the hut, and it was completely buried out of 
sight. They were therefore compelled to disinter the 
body by laboriously digging through the hard drift ; 
and it being quite dark and they much fixtigued when 
the task was completed, they constructed a shelter of 
snow, fed their dogs, and rested. Although the tem- 
perature was 42° below zero, they managed to sleep 
in their furs without serious inconvenience. This was 
the first of Mr. Dodge's experience at this sort of 
camping out, and he was justly elated with the suc- 
cess of the experiment. 

Setting out as soon as the daylight returned, the 
party came back by the same track which they had 
before pursued ; but, greatly to their surjDrise, the 
tides and wind had, in the interval, carried oif much 
of the ice in the neighborhood of the cape, so that 
they had before them the prospect of the very diffi- 
cult task of crossing the glacier. This, not particu- 
larly embarrassing to an empty sledge, would have 
been exceedingly so to them. Fortunately, however, 
they succeeded with some risk in getting over a very 
treacherous place where the ice-foot, to which they 
were forced to adhere, was sloping, and one of the 
sledges had nearly gone over into the sea. Kalutu- 



BURIAL OF SONNTAG. 275 

nah saved it by a dexterous movement which could 
have been performed with safety only by one familiarj 
by long experience, with such dangers and expe- 
dients. 

The body of our late comrade was placed in the 
observatory, where a few weeks before his fine mind 
had been intent upon those pursuits which were the 
delight of his life ; and on the little staff which sur- 
mounted the building the flag was raised at half-mast. 

The preparations for the funeral w^ere conducted 
wdth fitting solemnity. A neat coffin was made under 
the supervision of Mr. McCormick, and the body hav- 
ing been placed therein with every degree of care, it 
was, on the second day after the return of Mr. Dodge, 
brought outside and covered with the flag, and then, 
followed by the entire ship's company, in solemn pro- 
cession, it was borne by four of the sorrowing mess- 
mates of the deceased to the grave which had, with 
much difficulty, been dug in the frozen terrace. As 
it lay in its last cold resting-place, I read over the 
body the burial-service, and the grave was then closed. 
Above it we afterward built, with stones, a neatly 
shaped mound, and marked the head wdth a chiseled 
slab, bearing this inscription : — 



t 



AUGUST SONNTAG. 

Died 

December, 1860, 

AGED 28 YEARS. 



And here in the drear solitude of the Arctic desert 
our comrade sleeps the sleep that knows no waking 
in this troubled world, — where no loving hands can 



276 SON'NTAG'S TOMB. 

ever come to strew his grave with flowers, nor eves 
grow diro. with sorrowing ; but the gentle stars, which 
in hfe he loved so well, will keep over him eternal 
vigil, and the winds will wail over him, and Nature, 
his mistress, will drop upon his tomb her frozen tears 
forevermore. 



^;:^p?lfC'i 




CHAPTER XXIV. 

STARTING ON MY FIRST JOURNEY. —OBJECT OF THE JOURNEY. — A MISHAP.— 
A FRESH START. — THE FIRST CAMP. — HARTSTENE'S CAIRN. — EXPLORING 
A TRACK. — A NEW STYLE OF SNOW-HUT. — AN UNCOMFORTABLE NIGHT.— 
LOW TEMPERATURE.- EFFECT OF TEMPERATURE ON THE SNOW. — AMONG 
THE HUMMOCKS. — SIGHTING HUMBOLDT GLACIER. — THE TRACK IMPRAC- 
TICABLE TO THE MAIN PARTY. —VAN RENSSELAER HARBOR. — FATE OF 
THE ADTANCE. — A DRIVE IN A GALE. ' 

On the 16tli of March I found myself able for the 
first time to get around Sunrise Point. Except dur- 
ing a brief interval, the temperature had now fallen 
lower than at any previous period of the winter ; and, 
the air having been quite calm for two days, the ice 
had formed over the outer bay. This long desired 
event was hailed with satisfaction, and I determined 
to start north at once. 

My preparations occupied but a few hours, as every 
thing had been ready for weeks past. The charge of 
one of the sledges was given to Jensen, the other to 
Kalutunah, the former having nine and the latter six 
dogs. One of the dogs had died and another had 
been crijDpled in a fight, thus leaving me only fifteen 
for service. 

My object in this preliminary journey was chiefly 
to explore the track, and determine whether it were 
best to adhere to the Greenland coast, following up 
the route of Dr. Kane, or to strike directly across the 
Sound from above Cape Hatherton, in the* endeavor 
to reach, on Grinnell Land, the point of departure 



278 A MISHAP. 

for which I had striven, without success, the previous 
autumn. It was evident that every thing depended 
upon being now able to make good what I had lost 
by that failure, through a chain of circumstances 
which I have no need to repeat, as the reader will 
recall the struggle which resulted in the crippling of 
my vessel, and which had nearly caused its total 
Avreck among the ice-fields in the mouth of the 
Sound. If the state of the ice should j)rove favorable 
to a speedy crossing of the Sound to Grinnell Land, 
or even to securing, without much delaj^, a conven- 
ient 23oint of departure on the Greenland side beyond 
Humbvildt Glacier, I had little doubt as to the suc- 
cessful termination of my summer labors. 

Upon reaching Sunrise Point we found the ice to 
be very rough and insecure, and the tide of the previ- 
ous night had opened a wide crack directly off the 
point, which it was necessary for us to cross. This 
crack had been closed over but a few hours, and the 
dogs hesitated a moment at its margin ; but Jensen's 
whip reassured them, and they plunged ahead. The 
ice bent under their weight, and, as if by a mutual 
understanding, the team scattered, but not in time to 
save themselves, for down they all sank, higgledy-pig- 
gledy, into the sea, dragging the sledge after them. 
Being seated on the back part of it, I had time to roll 
myself off, but Jensen was not so fortunate, and dogs, 
sledge, driver and all were floundering together in a 
confused tangle among the broken ice. Kalutunah, 
who was a few paces in the rear, coming up, we extri- 
cated them from their cold bath. Jensen was pretty 
well soaked, and his boots were filled with water. 
Being only five miles from the schooner, I thought it 
safest to drive back as rapidly as possible rather than 



THE FIRST CAMP. 279 

construct a snow-hut to shelter my unlucky driver 
from the cold wind which was beginning to blow. 
Besides, our buffalo-skins were as wet as they could 
be, and we should have precious little comfort on our 
journey if we did not return and exchange them for 
dry ones. The dogs, too, ran great risk of injury by 
being allowed to rest in their wet coats in so low a 
temperature. The whip was not spared, and the ves- 
sel was reached without serious consequences either 
to Jensen or the team. An hour or so sufficed for us 
to refit, when we started again ; and being this time 
more cautious, we got around the point without fur- 
ther trouble. 

The ice was found to be smooth and the traveling 
good as we moved up the coast ; and, not being very 
heavily laden, we got on at a good pace. The snow 
had been packed very hard by the winds, and wher- 
ever there had been hummocks it had collected be- 
tween them, so that, although the surface was some- 
what rolling and uneven, yet it was as firm as a 
country road. Darkness coming on, (we had not yet 
reached the constant sunlight of summer,) we hauled 
in under. Cape Hatherton and made our first camp. 

It was a real Arctic camp ; — picketing the dogs 
and burrowing in a snow-bank are very simple opera- 
tions, and require but little time. Jensen made the 
burrow, and Kalutunah looked after the animals ; and 
when all was ready we crawled in and tried our best 
to be comfortable and to sleep ; but the recollection 
of the ship's bunk was too recent to render either 
practicable, except to Kalutunah, who did not seem 
to mind any thing, and snored all through the night 
in a most awful manner. The outside temperature 
was 40^ below zero. 



280 HARTSTENE'S CAIRN. 

I was not sorry when we got under way again next 
morning, and we were soon warmed up with the ex- 
ercise. The same condition of ice continuing after 
passing Cape Hatherton, we quickly reached the north 
horn of Fog Inlet. Here, as we approached the point, 
I discovered a cairn perched upon a conspicuous spot, 
and, not having remembered it as the work of any 
of Dr. Kane's parties, I halted the sledges and went 
ashore to inspect it. It proved to have been built by 
Captain Hartstene, while searching for Dr. Kane, as 
shown by a record found in a glass vial at its base. 
The record was as follows : — 

" The U. S. Steamer Arctic touched here and examined thoroughly 
for traces of Dr. Kane and his associates, without finding any tiling 
more than a vial, with a small piece of cartridge-pajoer with the let- 
lers ' O. K. Aug. 1853,' some matches, and a ship's rifle-ball. We 
go from this unknown point to Cape Hatherton for a search. 

" H. J. Hartstene, 
Lieut. Comdg. Arctic Expedition. 
"8 P. M. August IGth, 1855. 

" P. S. Should the U. S. bark Release find this, she will under- 
derstand that we are bound for a search at Cape Hatherton. 

" H. J. H." 

I was much gratified with this discovery, for it 
brought to my mind the recollection of the protect- 
ing care of our government, and a gallant effort to 
rescue from the jaws of the Arctic ice a very forlorn 
party of men. I was only sorry that the author of 
this hastily written evidence of his spirited search had 
not reached Cape Hatherton some time earlier, for 
then we should have been saved many a hard and 
weary pull. The locality will hereafter be known as 
Cairn Point. 

Climbing to an elevation, I had a good view of 
the sea over a radius of several miles. The pros- 



EXPLORING A TRACK. 281 

pect was not encouraging. In every direction, except 
immediately down the coast toward Cape Hatherton. 
the ice was very rough, being jammed against the 
shore and piled up over the sea in great ridgCvS, which 
looked rather unpromising for sledges. 

The view decided my course of action. Cairn Point 
would be my starting-place if I crossed the Sound, 
and a most convenient position for a depot of sup- 
plies in the event of being obliged to hold on up the 
Greenland coast. Accordingly, I took from the sledges 
all of the provisions except what was necessary for a 
six days' consumption, and discovering a suitable cleft 
in a rock, dej)osited it therein, covering it over with 
heavy stones, to protect it from the bears, intending 
to proceed up the coast for a general inspection of the 
condition of the ice on the Sound. 

These various operations consumed the day ; so we 
fed the dogs and dug into another snow-bank, and got 
through another night after the fashion of Arctic trav- 
elers, which is not much of a fashion to boast of We 
slept and did not freeze, and more than this we did 
not expect. 

The next day's journey was made with light sledges, 
but it was much more tedious than the two days pre- 
ceding ; for the track was rough, and during the greater 
part of the time it was as much as the dogs could do 
to get through the hummocked ice with nothing on 
the sledge but our little food and sleeping gear. As 
for riding, that was entirely out of the question. Af- 
ter nine hours of this sort of work, during which we 
made, lightened as we were, not over twenty miles, 
we were well satisfied to dravf up to the first conven- 
ient snow-bank for another nightly burrow. 

Being naturally inclined to innovation, I had busied 



282 A NEW STYLE OF SNOW-HUT. 

my mind all through the day, as I tumbled among 
the ice and the drifts, in devising some better plan 
of hut than the cavern arrangement of the nomadic 
Kalutunah. The snow-bank which I selected had a 
square side about five feet high. Starting on the top 
of this, we dug a pit about six feet long, four and 
a half wide, and four deep, leaving between the pit 
and the square side of the bank a wall about two feet 
thick. Over the top of this pit we placed one of the 
sledges, over the sledge the canvas apron used, while 
traveling, to inclose the cargo, and over that again 
we shoveled loose snow to the depth of some three 
feet. Then we dug a hole into this inclosure through 
the thin wall, pushed in our buffalo-skin bedding, and 
all articles penetrable by a dog's tooth and not in- 
closed in tin cases, (for the dogs will eat any thing, 
their own harness included,) then a few blocks of hard 
snow, and finally we crawled in ourselves. The blocks 
of snow were jammed into the entrance, and we were 
housed for the night. 

Being bound on a short journey, I thought that I 
could afford a little extra weight, and carried alcohol 
for fuel, as this is the only fuel that can be used in 
the close atmosphere of a snow-hut. A ghastly blue 
blaze was soon flickering in our faces, and in our single 
tin-kettle some snow was being converted into water, 
and then the water began to hum, and then after a 
long while it boiled, (it is no easy matter to boil water 
in such temperature with a small lamp,) and we were 
refreshed with a good strong pint pot of tea ; then 
the tea-leaves were tossed into one corner, some more 
snow was put in the tea-kettle and melted, and out of 
desiccated beef and desiccated potatoes we make a 
substantial hash • and when this was disposed of we lit 



COLD LODGINGS. 283 

our pipes, rolled up in our buffaloes, and did the best 
we could for the balance of the nio-ht. 

My invention did not, however, turn out so satis- 
factory as was expected. The hut, if more commo- 
dious, and admitting of a little movement without 
knocking down the loose snow all over us, was 
much colder than either of our dens of the Kalutu- 
nah plan, the temperature in each of which stood 
about zero through the night, elevated to that degree 
by the heat radiated from our own persons, and from 
the lamp which cooked the supper. But this pit un- 
der the sledge could not be warmed above 20° below 
zero. No amount of coaxing could induce the ther- 
mometer to rise. 

Notwithstanding all this I still adhered to my the- 
ory about snow-huts, and I very unjustly threw the 
blame on Jensen for carelessness in the construction ; 
so I sent him out to pile on more snow. This did not 
mend matters in the least, but rather made them 
worse ; for, through the now open doorway, what 
little warmth we had managed to get up made its 
escape ; and when Jensen came back and we shut 
ourselves in again, the temperature was — 35°, and 
never afterwards reached higher than — 30°. Even 
Kalutunah was troubled to sleep, and, as he rubbed 
his eyes and pounded his feet together to keep them 
from freezing, he made a grimace which told more 
plainly than words in what low estimation he held 
the Nalegaksoak's talents for making snow-huts. 

The cause of all this trouble was, however, ex- 
plained next morning. The hut was well enough, 
and I stuck ever afterward to the plan, and even 
Kalutunah was compelled to own that it was the cor- 
rect thing. It was perfectly tight. The thermometer 



284 LOW TEMPERATURE. 

told the story. As it hung against the snow wall I 
called Jensen's attention to it. The top of the deli- 
cate red streak of alcohol stood at 31° below zero. 

We crawled out in the open air at last, to try 
the sunshine. "T will give you the best buffalo-skin 
in the ship, Jensen, if the air outside is not warmer 
than in that den which you have left so full of holes." 
And it really seemed so. Human eye never lit upon 
a more pure and glowing morning. The sunlight was 
sparkling all over the landscape and the great world 
of whiteness ; and the frozen plain, the hummocks, the 
icebergs, and the tall mountains, made a picture in- 
viting to the eye. Not a breath of air was stirring. 
Jensen gave in without a murmur. " Well, the hut 
must have been full of holes, after all ; but I '11 fix it 
next time." 

I brought out the thermometer and set it up in the 
shadow of an iceberg near by. I really expected to 
see it rise ; but no, down sank the little red column, 
down, down, almost to the very bulb, and it never 
stopped until it had touched G8|° below zero, — - 100g° 
below the freezing point of water.^ 

I do not recall but two instances of equally low 
temperature having been previously recorded, one of 
which, by Niveroff, at Yakoutsk, in Siberia, was — 72° 
of the Fahrenheit scale. I am not, however, aware 
that any traveler has ever noted so low a tempera- 
ture while in the field. 

It struck me as a singular circumstance that this 
great depression of temperature w^as not perceptible 
to the senses, which utterly failed to give us even so 
much as a hint that here in this blazing sunlight we 

1 It is worthy of observation that the lowest temperature recorded at 
Port Foulke, during my absence, was 27° below zero. 



*" LOW TEMPERATURE. 285 

were experiencing about the coldest temperature ever 
recorded. But this would have held good only in the 
profound calm with which we were favored. At such 
low temperature the least wind is painful and even 
dangerous, especially if the traveler is compelled to 
face it. It is also a singular circumstance that, while 
the sun's rays, penetrating the atmosphere, seem to 
impart to it so little warmth, they are powerful 
enough to blister the skin, so that in truth the oppo- 
site conditions of heat — positive and negative — are 
operating upon the unfortunate face at one and the 
same time. 

The effect of these low temperatures upon the snow 
is very striking, It becomes hardened to such a de- 
gree that it almost equals sand in grittiness, and the 
friction to the sledge-runner is increased accordingly. 
The same circumstance was noted by Baron Wrangel, 
but it is not new to the Esquimaux. The sledge runs 
most glibly when the snow is . slightly wet. To ob- 
viate in some measure the difficulty thus occasioned, 
the native covers the sole of his runner with moisture. 
Dissolving in his mouth a piece of snow, he pours it 
out into his hand and coats with it the polished ivory 
sole, and in an instant he has formed a thin film of ice 
to meet the hardened crystals. Kalutunah stopped 
frequently for this purpose ; and, upon trying the ex- 
periment with my own sledge, I found it to work ad- 
mirably, and to produce a very perceptible difference 
in the draft. 

It would be needless for me to give from day to 
day the details of this journey. As I have said be- 
fore, it was merely experimental, and it was continued 
until I had satisfied myself fully that the route north- 
ward by the Greenland coast was wholly impractica- 



286 KALUTUl^AH PUZZLED. 

ble. The condition of the ice was very different from 
what it was in 1853-54. Then the coast ice was 
mainly smooth, and the hummocks were not met un- 
til we had gone from ten to twenty miles from the 
shore. Now there was no such belt. The winter had 
set in while the ice was crowding upon the land, and 
the pressure had been tremendous. Vast masses were 
piled up along the track, and the w^hole sea was but 
one confused jumble of ice -fragments, forced up by 
the pressure to an enormous height, and frozen to- 
gether in that position. The whole scene was the 
Rocky Mountains on a small scale ; peak after peak, 
ridge after ridge, spur after spur, separated by deep 
valleys, into which we descended over a rough decliv- 
ity, and then again ascended on the other side, to 
cross an elevated crest and repeat the operation. 
The traveling was very laborious. It was but an end- 
less clambering over ice-masses of every form and 
size. 

Kalutunah was much puzzled to understand my 
object. He had never heard of a journey into that 
region except to catch bears, and then only in great 
emergencies; and when bear-track after bear-track 
was crossed without our giving chase, he became even 
more and more concerned. He had a double motive, 
— to have the sport and to see the effect of our rifles ; 
but none of the tracks were fresh, and the chase would 
have been too long to agree with my purposes. At 
length, however, we came to a trail evidently not an 
hour old, and which we might have pursued to a suc- 
cessful issue, for the tracks were made by a mother 
and a small cub. Kalutunah halted his team, and was 
loud in his pleadings for leave to make a dash. He 
argued for the sport, for the skin which would make 



SIGHTING HUMBOLDT GLACIER. 287 

the Nalegaksoak such a fine coat, for his wife and 
children, who had not tasted bear-meat for ever so 
long a time, and finally for his dogs. " See how un^ 
hajDpy thej are," said he, pointing to his tired team, 
which seemed to possess little appreciation of the elo- 
quence that was being wasted upon them, for they 
had all fallen down in their tracks as soon as we had 
halted the sledges. Four days of hauling through 
drifts and hummocks had made them care little for a 
bear-hunt. 

Despite the difficulties of the traveling, three days 
more brought me within view of the great Hum- 
boldt Glacier, but the ice was becoming worse and 
worse, the icebergs were multiplying, my dogs were 
being worn out to no purpose ; and much as I should 
have liked to continue the journey, there was no ob- 
ject to be gained by doing so. The ground had been 
covered by Dr. Kane's parties, and there was nothing 
to be learned further than I had experienced already, 
namely, that, in no event, could I get my boat to the 
polar sea in this direction. Whether I could do any 
better by the passage across the Sound to Grinnell 
Land remained to be seen. In any case, this last 
was clearly my only route. 

The Humboldt Glacier was visible from the top of 
an iceberg. It revealed itself in a long line of bluish 
whiteness. Cape Agassiz, the last known point of the 
Greenland coast, bounded it on the right, and to the 
left it melted away in the remote distance. The line 
of its trend appeared to me to be more to the east- 
ward than given in the original survey of Mr. Bonnsall, 
of Dr. Kane's expedition ; and, although of little prac- 
tical importance, yet this circumstance, coupled with 
observations hereafter to be recorded, have caused me 



288 FATE OF THE "ADVANCE." 

to deviate somewhat, in the small chart which accom- 
panies this volume, from the chart of Dr. Kane. 

The coast along which I had been traveling was a 
succession of well-remembered landmarks. The tall 
sandstone cliffs were as familiar as the rows of lofty 
warehouses and stores on Broadway. Both up and 
down the coast I had gone so often from Van Rens- 
selaer Harbor that I knew every point of land, and 
gorge, and ravine as if I . had seen them but yester- 
day. But when I got down into the harbor itself 
how changed was every thing ! Instead of the broad, 
smooth ice over which I had so often strolled, there 
was but a uniform wilderness of hummocks. In the 
place where the Advance once lay, the ice was piled up 
nearly as high as were her mast-heads. Fern Rock 
was almost overridden by the frightful avalanche 
which had torn down into the harbor from the north, 
and the locality of the storehouse on Butler Island 
was almost buried out of sight. No vestige of the 
Advance remained, except a small bit of a deck-plank 
which I picked up near the site of the old Observa- 
tory. The fate of the vessel is of course a matter 
only of conjecture. When the ice broke up — it may 
have been the year we left her or years afterward — 
she was probably carried out to sea and ultimately 
crashed and sunk. From the Esquimaux I obtained 
many contradictory statements. Indeed, with the 
best intentions in the world, these Esquimaux have 
great trouble in telling a straight story. Even Kalu- 
tunah is not to be depended upon if there is the 
ghost of a chance for invention. He had been to the 
vessel, but at one time it was one year and then again 
it was another ; he had carried off much wood, as 
many other Esquimaux had done. Another Esqui- 



A DEIVE IN A GALE. 289 

man had seen a vessel driftino; about in the North 
Water among the ice, and finally it was sunk in the 
mouth of Wolstenholme Sound. This was four sum- 
mers ago. Another had seen the same vessel, but the 
event had happened only two years before ; while still 
another had accidentally set fire to the brig and 
burned her up where she lay in Van Eensselaer Har- 
bor. No two .of them gave the same account. In- 
deed, one of them asserted quite positively that the 
vessel had drifted down into the bay below, was there 
frozen up the next winter, and he had there boarded 
her when on a bear-himt. Kalutunah had nothing 
positive to say on the subject, but he rather inclined 
to the story of the burning. 

Every object around me was filled with old associa- 
tions, some pleasant and some painful. I visited the 
graves of Baker and the jovial cook, Pierre, and 
looked for the pyramid which Dr. Kane mentions as 
" our beacon and their tomb-stone," but it was scat- 
tered over the rocks, and the conspicuous cross which 
had been painted on its southern face was only here 
and there shown by a stone with a white patch 
upon it. 

On our homeward journey we camped again at 
Cairn Point, and made there a long halt, as I desired 
to get another view, from a loftier position than be- 
fore. Jensen was fortunate enough to shoot a deer, 
and our weary and battered dogs were refreshed with 
it. Thence to the schooner was one of the wildest 
rides that I remember ever to have made. A terrible 
gale of wind set upon us, and, with the thermometer 
at — 52°, it carried a sting with it. The drifting snow 
was battering us at a furious rate ; but the dogs, with 
their heads turned homeward, did their best, and the 
thirty miles were made in three and a half hours. 

19 



CHAPTER XXV. 

SENDING FORWARD SUPPLIES. —KALUTUNAH AS A DRIVER. — KALTJTUN AH CIV- 
ILIZED. —MR. KNORR. — PLAN OF MY PROPOSED JOURNEY. — PREPARING TO 
SET OUT.— INDUSTRIOUS ESQUIMAU WOMEN.— DEATH AND BURIAL OF KAB- 
LUNET. — THE START. 

During the next few days the dog-sledges were 
going and coming between the schooner and Cairn 
Point continually, carrying to the latter place the 
stores needed for our summer campaign. The tem- 
perature still held very low, and I did not deem it 
prudent to send out a foot party, I knew by former 
experience how important it is for a commander to 
keep inexperienced men under his own eye, for one 
frozen man will demoralize a dozen, and a frosted foot 
is as contagious as the small-pox. 

Kalutunah's team was turned over to Mr. Knorr, 
and in doing this I gratified both parties and served 
my own interests. The novelty of serving me, and 
of traveling with me, had by this time worn off, and 
I could plainly see that the chief was quite as well 
satisfied to remain with his wife and babies as to trust 
himself to the uncertain fortunes of the ice-fields, 
more especially as his curiosity to see how this man 
that he called the big chief behaved himself had been 
fully gratified. The recent journey had convinced 
him that I was fully entitled to his respect, since I did 
not freeze, and altogether conducted myself as well as 
an Esquimau would have done under like circum- 



KALUTUNAH CIVILIZED. 291 

stances ; and this was a great deal in his eyes. It 
M^as not difficult to perceive that Kalutunah started 
with me expecting to take me mider his protecting 
wing ; and if he did not have the pleasing satisfaction 
of seeing me groaning with the cold, at least he should 
have the opportunity to instruct me how to live and 
how to travel ; but when I began to instruct him, and 
turned the tables on him, he was much disappointed ; 
and when to this violation of propriety I added the 
still more unpardonable offense of refusing him a bear- 
hunt, his enthusiasm oozed out very rapidly ; and if 
he admired the Nalegaksoak the more he desired to 
follow him the less, particularly as the dangers of 
the service preponderated over the emoluments. In- 
deed, the fellow was disposed to avail himself fidly of 
the advantages of his new situation, and I soon made 
up my mind that he was henceforth a pensioner upon 
my bounty, so I doubled his riches and made him 
the happiest Esquimau that ever was seen. My thor- 
oughly energetic, daring and skillful hunter, who 
prided himself upon the excellence of his equipments 
and the abundance of his supplies, for once in his life 
found himself so situated that he was freed from all 
necessity of giving thought to the morrow. It was 
truly a novel sensation, and it is not surprising that 
he should wish to enjoy the short-lived holiday. He 
was greatly amused, — amused with himself, amused 
with the Naleo;aksoak who had made him so rich and 
allowed him to be so lazy, and amused with the white 
man's dress with which he was bedecked^, and in which 
he cut such a sorry figure. His face was never with- 
out a fall-blown grin. I gave him a looking-glass, and 
he carried it about with him continually, looking at 
himself and laughing at his head with a cap on it, and 



292 KALUTUNAH UNCIVILIZED. 

at his red shirt which dangled beneath an old coat. It 
was all very fine and very wonderful. " Don't I look 
pretty ? " was the poser which he put to everybody. 

But this pleasing state of mind into which he had 
been thrown by this new style of costume was doomed 
to be short-lived. The novelty wore off in a few days. 
It ceased to amuse him ; and he discovered, no doubt, 
that in gratifying his vanity he was vexing the flesh. 
One day he appeared on board in his old suit of furs. 
"What has become of the cap and red shirt and coat?" 
" Oh ! I tumbled into the water, and my wife is drying 
them ! " The truth leaked out afterward that he had 
gone home, changed the white man's finery for the 
cold-resisting fox-skins, and had chucked the whole 
suit amona: the rocks. 

Kalutunah's team fell to Mr. Knorr from sheer ne- 
cessity, since there was no one else in the ship except 
Hans who could handle the whip. Knorr, with com- 
mendable foresight, had commenced his exercises early 
in the winter, plainly foreseeing that his chances of 
accompanying me throughout my northern journey 
were not likely to be diminished by knowing how to 
drive dogs. The labor jDroperly devolved upon one 
of the sailors ; but the field was open to all alike ; 
and the young gentleman, finding that official dig- 
nity stood in the way of his ambition, with a spirit 
which I was not slow to appreciate, did not long hesi- 
tate in his choice. 

I have elsewhere mentioned that the labor of driv- 
ing dogs is not an easy one. Indeed, of all the mem- 
bers of my party, Mr. Knorr was the only one who 
succeeded well. Even in Southern Greenland, among 
the Danes long resident there, it is rare to find a skill- 
ful driver. Neither of the sailors, Carl nor Christian, 



PREPARING TO START. 293 

whom I had taken from Upernavik, could throw the 
lash anywhere else than about their legs, or into the 
face of whomsoever might happen to sit upon the 
sledge. As for hitting a dog, they could scarcely do 
it by any chance. 

My recent journey had decided my course of ac- 
tion. The last view which I had from the top of the 
lofty cliff behifid Cairn Point convinced me that my 
only chance for the season was to cross the Sound 
from that place, for my observations up the Greenland 
coast had shown me, as has been already observed, the 
impracticability of reaching the Polar Sea by that 
route. McCormick had immediate charge of the work 
of preparation, and pushing every thing forward with 
his customary energy, we were ready to start before 
the close of March. But the temperature still contin- 
ued to range too low for safety, and I only awaited a 
rise of the thermometer. Our Uttle community was 
now full of Hfe and business. 

The Esquimaux were not an unimportant element 
in the hive. The most useful service came, however, 
from the ancient dames who presided over the domes- 
tic affairs of the snow house and the hut at Etah. 
They were sewing for us constantly, and were proba- 
bly the first women in the world who ever grew rich 

" Plying the needle and thread." 

But misfortune fell at length within the snow-hut. 
Poor old Kablunet, the voluble and kind-hearted and 
industrious wife of Tcheitchenguak, took sick. Her 
disease was pneumonia, and it ran its course with 
great rapidity. All my medicines and all my efforts 
to save her were of no avail, and she died on the 
fourth day. This unhappy event had nearly de- 



294 AN ESQUIMAU FUNEEAL. 

strojed my prestige as a Narkosak, and indeed it 
would have done so completely had it not been for 
the fortunate occurrence of an auroral display, during 
which time Jensen, whom my journal mentions as " a 
convenient and useful man," informed the Esquimaux 
that the white man's medicine will not operate. And 
thus was saved my reputation. She died at five o'clock 
in the evenino; ; at six she was sewed up in a seal-skin 
winding-sheet, and before it was yet cold the body 
was carried on Hans's sledge to a neighboring gorge 
and there buried among the rocks and covered with 
heavy stones. The only evidences of sorrow or regret 
were manifested by her daughter, Merkut, the wife of 
Hans, and these appeared to be dictated rather from 
custom than affection. Merkut remained by the 
grave after the others had departed, and for about an 
hour she walked around and around it, muttering in a 
low voice some praises of the deceased. At the head 
of the grave she then placed the knife, needles, and 
sinew which her mother had recently been using, and 
the last sad rites to the departed savage were per- 
formed. Tcheitcheno-uak came over and told me 
that there was no longer anybody to keep his lamp 
burning, and that his hut was cold, and with a very 
sorrowful face he besrored to be allowed to live with 
Hans. My consent given, that of Hans was not 
deemed necessary ; and so the snow-hut became de- 
serted, and the cheerful family that had there dis- 
pensed a rude hospitality was broken up ; and the 
"house of feastins;" had become a "house of mourn- 
ing," and Tcheitchenguak had come away from it to 
finish alone his little remaining span of life. Old and 
worn down by a hard struggle for existence, he was 
now dependent upon a generation which cared little 



thp: field party. 295 

for him, while she who alone could have soothed the 
sorrows of his declining years had gone away before 
him to the far-off island where the Great Spirit, Torn- 
gasoak the Mighty, regales the happy souls with an 
endless feast on the ever green banks of the bound- 
less lake, where the ice is never seen and the darkness 
is never known, — where the sunshine is eternal, in 
the summer of bliss that is everlasting, — the Uper- 
nak that has no end. 

The temperature having somewhat moderated, I 
determined to set out in the evening of the third of 
April. Although the sun had not yet reached the 
horizon at midnight, there was quite light enough for 
my purposes, and by traveling in the night instead of 
the day we would have greater warmth while in camp, 
which is really the time of greatest danger from the 
cold ; for when on the march men have usually little 
difficulty in keeping warm^ even at the lowest temper- 
atures, provided there is no wind. Besides this, there 
is still another difficulty obviated. The constant glare 
of the mid-day sun is a very severe tax upon the eye, 
and great caution is needed to guard against that 
painful and inconvenient disease known as " snow- 
blindness." In order to protect my men against it, 
as much as possible, I had supplied each of them with . 
a pair of blue-glass goggles. 

My field party consisted of every available officer 
and man in the schooner, twelve in number. We 
were all ready to start at seven o'clock ; and when I 
joined them on the ice beside the schooner their ap- 
pearance was as picturesque as it was animated. In 
advance stood Jensen, impatiently rolling out his long 
whip-lash ; and his eight dogs, harnessed to his sledge, 
"The Hope," were as impatient as he. Next came 



296 THE START. 

Knorr with six dogs and the " Perseverance," to the 
"upstander of which he had tied a Uttle blue flag bear- 
ing this, his motto, " Toiijours pret!' Then came a 
lively group of eight men, each with a canvas belt 
across his shoulder, to which was attached a line that 
fastened him to the sledge. Alongside the sledge 
stood McCormick and Dodge, ready to steer it among 
the hummocks, and on the sledge was mounted a 
twenty-foot metallic life-boat with which I hoped to 
navigate the Polar Sea. The mast was up and the 
sails were spread, and from the peak floated our boat's 
ensign, which had seen service in two former Arctic 
and in one Antarctic voyage, and at the mast-head 
were run up the Masonic emblems. Our little sig- 
nal-flag was stuck in the stern-sheets. The sun was 
shining brightly into the harbor, and everybody was 
filled with enthusiasm, and ready for the hard pull 
that was to come. Cheer after cheer met me as I 
came down the stairway from the deck. At a given 
signal Radcliflfe, who was left in charge of the vessel, 
touched off the " swivel," " March," cried McCormick, 
crack went the whips, the dogs sprang into their col- 
lars, the men stretched their "track ropes," and the 
cavalcade moved off. 

The events which follow I will give from my " field- 
book," trusting that the reader will have sufficient 
interest in my party to accompany them through the 
icy wilderness into which they plunged ; but for this 
we will need a new chapter. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

THE FIRST DAY'S JOURNEY. —A FALL OF TEMPERATURE. — ITS EFFECT UPON 
THE MEN. — CAMPED IN A SNOW-HUT. —THE SECOND DAY'S JOURNEY.— 
AT CAIRN POINT. — CHARACTER OF THE ICE. — THE PROSPECT. — STORM- 
STAYED. —THE COOKS IN DIFFICULTY. — SNOW-DRIFT. — VIOLENCE OF THE 
GALE. — OUR SNOW-HUT. 

April 4th. 

Buried in a snow-bank, and not over well pleased 
with my first day's work. The temperature of the air 
has tumbled down to — 32,° and inside the hut it is 
now, two hours after entering it, a degree above zero, 
and steadily rising. Three of the party succumbed to 
the cold on the march, and I had much difficulty in 
keeping them from being seriously frozen. We got on 
finely until we reached Sunrise Point, where the ice was 
very rough, and we were bothered for more than two 
hours in getting over it with our long and cumber- 
some boat and sledge. It was probably only a little 
foretaste of what is to come when we strike across 
the Sound. Once over this ugly place, we halted to 
melt some water, for the men had become very warm 
and thirsty. Unluckily, just at this time a smart 
breeze sprung up, chilling us through and through, 
for we had been perspiring freely with the violent ex- 
ercise. The first cold blast put an extinguisher upon 
the enthusiasm which the party had carried along 
with them from the ship, and it was singular to ob- 
serve the change which came over their spirits. It 
was the contrast of champagne and sour cider. Some 



298 THE FIRST DAY'S JOURNEY. 

of them looked as if they were going to their own 
funerals, and wore that " My God ! what shall I do ? " 
look that would have been amusing enough had it not 
been alarming. One of these, without sufficient energy 
to keep himself in motion, crouched behind a snow- 
drift, and when discovered he had squarely settled 
himself for a freeze. In half an hour his inclination 
would have been accomplished. When I came up to 
him he said very coolly, and with a tone of resigna- 
tion worthy a martyr, " I 'm freezing." His fingers 
and toes were already as white as a tallow-candle. 
There was no time to be lost. I rubbed a little circu- 
lation back into them, and, placing him in charge of 
two men with orders to keep him moving, I saved 
him from the serious consequences which would oth- 
erwise have resulted from his faint-heartedness. With- 
out waiting for more of the coveted drops of water, 
I pushed on for the first snow-bank, and got my party 
out of the wind and under cover. But this was not 
done w^ithout difficulty. It seemed as if two or three 
of them were possessed with a heroic desire to die on 
the spot, and I really believe that they would have 
done it cheerfully rather than, of their own accord, 
seize a shovel and aid in constructing, if not a place 
of comfort, at least a place of rest and safety. This 
sort of thins; at the start is not encourao^iner, but I 
cannot say that I am much surprised at it ; for my 
former experience has shown the hazard of exposing 
men in the wind in such low temperatures. This, 
however, is one of those things against which no fore- 
sight can provide. No serious consequences appear 
to have resulted from the event, and the sufferers are 
growing more comfortable as the temperature of the 
hut rises. We have had our rude camp supper, and 



AT CAIRN POINT. 299 

I have started an alcohol lamp ; the door is closed 
tightly ; the party are all drawn under the sleeping- 
furs ; the plucky ones smoke their pipes, and the bal- 
ance of them shiver as if they would grow warm with 
the exercise. The chattering of teeth is not pleasant 
music. 

April 5th. 

Under the snow again near Cape Hatherton. Our 
halt at the last camp was continued for eighteen 
hours, until the men had got fairly thawed out, and 
the wind had entirely subsided. The short march 
hence was made slowly and steadily, as I do not wish 
at first to urge upon the men too much work, nor to 
keep them long exposed to the cold. There are no 
frost-bites of consequence resulting from the exposure 
of yesterday. The spirits of the party have some- 
what revived. The temperature has risen, and the 
hut is warmer than that of last night, — that is, my 
thermometer, hanging from the runner of the sledge 
over my head shows 10° above zero. 

April 6th. 

We have reached Cairn Point, and are comfortably 
housed. The men have come up to the work reason- 
ably well. The depression of spirits which followed 
the blast of cold wind that overtook us above Sunrise 
Point has passed away, and all hands are gay and 
lively. I had no need to urge or instruct or use the 
snow-shovel myself at this camp-. The weak in spirit 
have profited by their lessons, and have learned that 
in providing for one's comfort and safety on the ice- 
fields the shovel materially assists appeals to Heaven, 
— a very wholesome change, and, as a result of it, in- 
stead of being upward of two hours in constructing 
our hut, as on the first night, we have this time ac- 



300 THE PROSP'^CT. 

complishecl the task in less than one, and everybody 
seemed ambitious of doing the work in the shortest 
possible space of time. 

The traveling to-day has been very fair for the dog- 
sledges, but very bad for the boat. It runs easily 
enough on the smooth surface, but dragging its long 
length over a snow-drift even four feet deep, or, worse 
still, over hummocks even half as high, is a trouble- 
some task ; and we have crossed many strips of rough 
ice to-day which could not be passed until we had 
broken a track. In consequence of this we were 
obliged to leave some of the load behind, especially 
as I wished to reach Cairn Point before camping. 
Knorr and Jensen had already cached one of their 
cargoes of March at Cape Hatherton, and this was 
left with it. It will cost us a day's labor to bring 
it up. 

The difficulties in transporting the boat among the 
hummocks, and the very light load which either the 
men or dogs can carry over the broken ice, as shown 
by this day's experience, convince me that the boat 
and cargo can hardly be transported to the west coast 
at one journey ; and I have therefore concluded to 
leave the boat here for the present, at least until the 
track is further explored, and set out with the two 
dog-sledges and a foot party dragging the other 
sledge, laden with such stores as they can carry, for 
a depot on Grinnell Land. I can at any time send 
the party back for the boat ; and if it should turn out 
that the boat cannot bs got across the Sound, then I 
shall, in any event, have a depot of supplies for my 
explorations over the ice with the dog-sledges, before 
the thaw of June and July shall have put an end to 
that species of traveling. 



STORM-STAYED. 301 

The track before me looks 'unpromising enough. 
After the party was housed, I chmbecl up to a consid- 
erable eminence, and have had the melancholj^ satis- 
faction of looking out over the ugliest scene that my 
eye has ever chanced to rest upon. There was noth- 
ing inviting in it. Except a few miles of what has 
evidently, up to a very late period of the fall, been 
open water, which has frozen suddenly, there is not a 
rod of smooth ice in sight. The whole Sound appears 
to have been filled with ice of the most massive de- 
scription, w^hich, broken up into a moving " pack " in 
the summer, has come down upon this Greenland 
coast with the southerly setting current, and has piled 
up all over the sea in a confused jumble. I know 
what it is from having crossed it in 1854 ; and if it 
is as bad now as then (and it ap^Dcars to be much 
worse) there is every prospect of a severe tussle. 

April 7th. 

Did anybody ever see such capricious weather as 
this of Smith Sound ? It is the torment of my life 
and the enemy of my plans. I can never depend 
upon it. It is the veriest flirt that ever owned Dame 
Nature for a mother. 

We camped in a calm atmosphere, but in the mid- 
dle of the night — bang ! — down came a bugle-blast 
of Boreas, and then the old god blew and blew as if he 
had never blown in all his life before, and wanted 
to prove what he could do. We could hardly show 
our noses out of doors, and have lain huddled to- 
gether in this snow den all day, — a doleful sort 
of imprisonment. It is with much difficulty that 
we have got any thing to eat, and we never should if 
I had not turned cook myself, and shown these inno- 



302 THE COOKS IN DIFFICULTY. 

cents of mine how to keep the furnace-lamp from 
being blown out ; for we can use only lard for fuel, 
and the smoke is so great that we cannot have the 
cooking done inside. It seems to me that nothing 
takes the wits out of a man so quickly as the cold. 
The cooks had not sense enough left to inclose 
themselves in a snow wall, and I had to teach them 
how to keep up the proper proportion of lard and 
rope-yarns in the lamp to prevent the flame from 
smothering on the one hand, and from being whiffed 
out on the other. We were more than two hours in 
making a pot of coffee, and came in out of the pelt- 
ing snow-drift with our furs all filled with it ; and 
now it melts, and the clothing is getting damp, for we 
do not change our dress when we crawl in between 
our buffalo-skin sheets. 

April 8th. 
Could any thing be more aggravating ? The gale 
holds on and keeps us close prisoners. My people 
could no more live in it than in a fiery furnace. I 
never saw any thing like it. Last night it fell warmer, 
and snowed, which gave us encouragement ; but the 
wind blew afterward more fierce than ever, and hu- 
man eye never beheld such sights. There was no- 
where any thing else but flying snow. The sun's face 
was blinded, and the hills and coast were hidden com- 
pletely out of sight. Once in a while we can see the 
ghost of an iceberg, but that is rarely. We tried to 
brave it yesterday, and again to-day, for I wanted to 
go down to Cape Hatherton to bring up our cargo 
there. So we commenced tearing down the hut to 
get at the sledge ; but ten minutes convinced me that 
half the party would freeze outright if we undertook 
to face the storm, and I sent the flock again under 



IN A SNOW BANK. 303 

cover, and went behind the snow wall to help the 
cooks with their fire. 

The poor dogs were almost buried out of sight. 
They had all crouched together in a heap ; and as the 
drift accumulated over them they poked their heads 
further and further up into it ; and when I came to 
count them to see if any had left us and run back to 
the ship or been frozen to death, it was truly count- 
ing noses. There were fourteen of them. 

It seems rather strano-e to be writins; on at this rate 
in a snow-hut, but the truth is I have no more trouble 
in writing here than if I were in my cabin. The tem- 
perature has come up almost to the freezing point, 
and it is a great relief to write. What else should I 
do ? I have two small books which I have brought 
along for just such emergencies as this, and while 
my companions play cards and bet gingerbread and 
oyster suppers and bottles of rum to be paid in Bos- 
ton, I find nothing better to do than read and write ; 
and, since I cannot remain unoccupied, but must kill 
time in some manner, or else sleep, suppose I describe 
this den in the snow-bank. 

It is a pit eighteen feet long by eight wide and 
four deep. Over the top of said pit are placed the 
boat-oars, to support the sledge, which is laid across 
them ; and over the sledge is thrown the boat's sail ; 
and over the sail is thrown loose snow. In one end 
of the den thus formed there is a hole, through which 
we crawl in, and which is now filled up tightly with 
blocks of snow. Over the floor (if the term is admis- 
sible) there is spread a strip of India-rubber cloth; 
over this cloth a strip of bufialo-skins, which are all 
squared and sewed together ; and over this again 
another just like it. When we want to sleep we 



304 THIRTEEN IN A BED. 

draw ourselves underneath the upper one of these 
buffalo strips, and accommodate ourselves to the very 
moderate allowance of space assigned to each person 
as best we can. The post of honor is at the end 
furthest from the door ; and, except the /^"■"'q^ ter^>^^' 

this post of honor is the least dedr/ijpir ^ Poet'? " 

places, for, somehow or other, the U\f' 
low me manage to jduU the "cloth ^P'^^^'^ia itctve 
me jammed against the snow wall, '..i^a nothing on 
me but my traveling gear ; for we go to bed without 
change of costume except our boots and stockings, 
which we tuck under our heads to help out a pillow, 
while what we call " reindeer sleeping stockings " 
take their place on the feet. And, furthermore, there 
is not much that I can say. This can hardly be called 
comfort. I have a vague remembrance of having 
slept more soundly than I have done these last four 
nights, and of having rested upon something more 
agreeable to the " quivering flesh " than this bed of 
snow, the exact sensations communicated by which 
are positively indescribable, — a sort of cross between 
a pine board and a St. Lawrence gridiron. And yet 
the people are busy and merry enough. Harris, one 
of my most energetic and ambitious men, is sewing a 
patch on his seal-skin pantaloons, stopping " a hole to 
keep the winds away ; " Miller, another spirited and 
careful man, is closing up a rip in his Esquimau boot ; 
and Carl, who has a fine tenor voice, has just finished a 
sailor's song, and is clearing his throat for " The Bold 
Soldier Boy." Several packs of cards are in requisi- 
tion, and altogether we are rather a jolly party, — the 
veriest Mark Tapleys of travelers. We are leading a 
novel sort of life, and I can imagine that the time will 
come when I shall turn over the pages of this diary 



THE SOURCE OF HAPPINESS. 305 

and be amused at the strangeness of the contrast of 
these events with the humdrum routine of ordinary 
existence. I have no doubt that I shall then wonder 
if this is not all set down in a dream, so singular will 
it p' J jet so quickly do the human body and 

iind accommodate themselves to the 
stances of life that, in ever}- thing 
w^e do, I. .£: seem at the time always natural, 

and cause us no astonishment ; still, when we review 
the past, we are continually amazed that we have un- 
dergone so many transformations, and can scarcely 
recognize ourselves in our chamelion dresses. If it 
should ever again be my luck to eat canvas-back at 
Delmonico's I shall no doubt very heartily despise the 
dried beef and potato hash which now constitute, with 
bread and coffee, my only fare ; and yet no canvas- 
back was ever enjoyed as much as this same hash ; 
and no coffee distilled through French percolator was 
ever so fine as the pint pot which is passed along to 
me, smoking hot, in the morning ; and the best treas- 
ures of Perio;ord forest were never relished more than 
are the few little chips of ship's biscuit which the 
coffee washes down. In fact, our pleasures are but 
relative. They are never absolute ; and happiness is 
quite probably, as Paley has wisely hinted, but a cer- 
tain state of that " nervous network lining the whole 
region of the prgecordia ; " and, therefore, since this 
Cold pencil only gives me pain in the fingers, while 
nothing disturbs the harmony of the prsecorclia, I do 
not know but that I am about as well off as I ever 
w\as in my life. True, I have not the means which I 
expected to have for the execution of my designs, 
and I am beset with difficulties and embarrassments ; 
but if happiness lies in that quarter, pleasure lies in 

20 



306 "ALL IS VANITY." 

the future, for we willingly forget the present in the 
anticipations, — in the delights to come from the con- 
tests and struggles ahead ; and it is well that this is 
so ; for that which we spend most time in getting 
is often not worth the having. The Preaner tel/^s us 
that " All is vanity -, " and what says thepoet ? — 

pleasures are like poppies 3read ; 



You seize the flower — its bloom is shfeu -, 
Or like the snow-fall in the river — 
A moment white, then melts forever ; 
Or like the borealis race, 
That flits ere you can point the place.' 



^"^l^PiSi" 



'h 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



THE STORM CONTINUES. — AT WORK. — AMONG THE HUMMOCKS. —DIFFICULTIES 
OF THE TRACK. — THE SNOW-DRIFTS. — SLO\y PROGRESS. — THE SMITH 
SOUND ICE. — FORMATION OF THE HUMMOCKS. — THE OLD ICE-FIELDS. 
GROWTH OF ICE-FIELDS. — THICKNESS OF ICE.— THE PROSPECT. 



I WILL not lay so heavy a tax upon the reader's pa- 
tience as to ask him to follow the pages of my diary 
through the next three weeks. Diaries are of necessity 
so much taken up with matters that are purely per- 
sonal and. contain so much of endless repetition, so 
many events that are of daily recurrence, that it is 
impossible in the very nature of things that they can 
have much interest for anybody but the writers of 
them. Suffice it, therefore, to say that the storm con- 
tinued with unabated violence during the day suc- 
ceeding that which closed the last chapter, and it did 
not fairly subside until the end of the tenth day. 
Meanwhile, however, we were busily occupied. The 
storm did not keep us housed. 

Our first duty was to bring up the stores left at 
Cape Hatherton. This accomplished, we broke up 
our camp and set out to cross the Sound with a mod- 
erate load, the men dragging the large sledge, while 
the dogs were attached as before. The wind had, for- 
tunately, hauled more to the south, and, coming 
nearly on our backs, we found little inconvenience 
from this source. But difficulties of another kind 
soon gave us warning of the serious nature of the 



308 DIFFICULTIES OF THE TRACK. 

task which we had undertaken. By winding to the 
right and left, and by occasionally retracing our steps 
when we had selected an impracticable route, we 
managed to get over the first few miles without 
much embarrassment, but farther on the track was 
rough past description. I can compare it to nothing 
but a promiscuous accumulation of rocks closely 
packed together and piled up over a vast plain in great 
heaps and endless ridges, leaving scarcely a foot of 
level surface and requiring the traveler to pick the 
best footing he can over the inequalities, — some- 
times mounting unavoidable obstructions to an eleva- 
tion of ten, and again more than a hundred feet 
above the general level. 

The interstices between these closely accumulated 
ice masses are filled up, to some extent, with drifted 
snow. The reader will readily imagine the rest. He 
will see the sledges winding through the tangled 
wilderness of broken ice-tables, the men and dogs 
pulling and pushing up their respective loads, as Na- 
poleon's soldiers may be supposed to have done when 
drawing their artillery through the steep and rugged 
passes of the Alps. He will see them clambering 
over the very summit of lofty ridges, through which 
there is no opening, and again descending on the 
other side, the sledge often plunging over a precipice, 
sometimes capsizing, and frequently breaking. Again 
he will see the party, baffled in their attempt to cross 
or find a pass, breaking a track with shovel and 
handspike ; or, again, unable even with these appli- 
ances to accomplish their end, they retreat to seek 
a better track ; and they may be luckj^ enough to 
find a sort of gap or gateway, upon the winding and 
uneven surface of which they will make a mile or so 



SLOW PROGRESS. 309 

with comparative ease. The snow-drifts are some- 
times a help and sometimes a hinderance. Their sur- 
face is uniformly hard, but not always firm to the 
foot. The crust frequently gives way, and in a most 
tiresome and provoking manner. It will not quite 
bear the weight, and the foot sinks at the very mo- 
ment when the other is lifted. But, worse than this, 
the chasms between the hummocks are frequently 
brido;ed over with snow in such a manner as to leave 
a considerable space at the bottom quite unfilled ; 
and at the very moment when all looks promising, 
down sinks one man to his middle, another to the 
neck, another is buried out of sight, the sledge gives 
way, and to extricate the whole from this unhappy 
predicament is probably the labor of hours ; espe- 
cially, as often happens, if the sledge must be un- 
loaded ; and this latter is, from many causes, an event 
of constant occurrence. Not unfrequently it is neces- 
sary to carry the cargo in two or three loads. The 
sledges are coming and going continually, and the 
day is one endless pull and haul. The nautical cry 
of the sailors, intended to inspi-re unison of action, 
mingles with the loud and not always amiable com- 
mands of Jensen and Knorr, each urging on his fa- 
tigued and toil-worn dogs. 

It would be difficult to imagine any kind of labor 
more disheartening, or which would sooner sap the 
energies of both men and animals. The strength 
gave way gradually ; and when, as often happened, 
after a long and hard day's work, we could look back 
from an eminence and almost fire a rifle-ball into our 
last snow-hut, it was truly discouraging. 

I need hardly say that I soon gave up all thought 
of trying to get the boat across the Sound. A hun- 



310 SMITH SOUND. 

drecl men could not have accomplished the task. My 
only purpose now was to get to the coast of Grinnell 
Land with as large a stock of provisions as possible, 
and to retain the men as long as they could be of 
use ; but it soon became a question whether the men 
themselves could carry over their own provisions in- 
dependent of the surplus which I should require in 
order that the severe labor should result to advantage. 
In spite, however, of every thing the men kept stead- 
fastly to their duty, through sunshine and through 
storm, through cold, and danger, and fatigue. 

The cause of this extraordinary condition of the 
ice will need but little explanation in addition to that 
which has been given in the preceding chapter. The 
reader will have no difficulty in comprehending the 
cause by an examination of the Smith Sound map. 
He will observe that the Sound is, in effect, an exten- 
sive sea, with an axis running almost east and west, 
and having a length of about one hundred and sixty 
miles and a width of eighty. The name "Sound," 
by which it is known, was first given to it by its dis- 
coverer, brave old William Baffin, two hundred and 
fifty odd years ago. The entrance from Cape Alex- 
ander to Cape Isabella is but thirty miles over, and 
by referring to the map it will be seen that this gate- 
way rapidly expands into the sea to which I have in- 
vited attention, — a sea almost as large as the Caspian 
or Baltic, measured from the terminus of Baffin Bay 
to where Kennedy Channel narrows the waters before 
they expand into the great Polar Basin. This exten- 
sive sea should bear the name of the leader of the 
expedition which first defined its boundaries — I 
mean, of course. Dr. Kane. 

Now into this sea the current sets from the Polar 



DIMEx\SIONS OF AN ICE FIELD. 311 

Basin through the broader gateway above mentioned, 
known as Kennedy Channel; and the ice, escaping 
but slowly through the narrow Sound into Baffin Bay, 
has accumulated within the sea from century to cen- 
tury. The summer dismembers it to some extent 
and breaks it up into fragments of varying size, 
which are pressing together, wearing and grinding 
continually, and crowding down upon each other 
and upon the Greenland coast, thus producing the 
result which we have seen. 

In order fully to aj)preciate the power and magni- 
tude of this ice-movement, it must be borne in mind 
that a very large proportion of the ice is of very 
ancient formation, — old floes or ice-fields of im- 
mense thickness and miles in extent, as well as of 
icebero-s discharo;ed from Humboldt Glacier. These 
vast masses, tearing along with the current in the 
early winter through the sea as it is closing up and 
new ice is making rapidly, are as irresistible as a tor- 
nado among the autumn leaves. As an illustration, 
I will give the dimensions of an old field measured 
by me while crossing the Sound. Its average height 
was twenty feet above the sea level, and about six 
by four miles in extent of surface, which was very 
uneven, rising into rounded hillocks as much as 
eighty feet in height, and sinking into deep and 
tortuous valleys. 

To cross such a floe with our sledges was almost as 
difficult as crossing the hummocks themselves ; for, in 
addition to it8 uneven surface, like that of a very 
rough and broken country, it was covered with 
crusted snow through which the sledge-runners cut 
continually, and which broke down under the foot. I 
estimated its solid contents, in round numbers, at 



312 ORIGIN OF A FLOE. 

6,000,000,000 of tons, its depth being about one hun- 
dred and sixty feet. Around its border was thrown 
up on all sides a sort of mountain chain of last year's 
ice, the loftiest pinnacle of which was one hundred and 
twenty feet above the level of the sea. This ice-hill, 
as it might well be called, w^as made up of blocks of 
ice of every shape and of various sizes, piled one 
upon the other in the greatest confusion. Numerous 
forms equally rugged, though not so lofty, rose from 
the same ridge, and from every part of this desolate 
area ; and if a thousand Lisbons were crowded to- 
gether and tumbled to pieces by the shock of an 
earthquake, the scene could hardly be more rugged, 
nor to cross the ruins a severer task. 

The origin of such a floe dates back to a very re- 
mote period. That it was cradled in some deep recess 
of the land, and there remained until it had grown 
to such a thickness that no summer's sun or water's 
washing could wholly obliterate it before the winter 
cold came again, is most probable. After this it grows 
as the glacier grows, from above, and is, like the gla- 
cier, wholly composed of fresh ice, — that is, of frozen 
snow. It will be thus seen that the accumulation of 
ice upon the mountain tops is not different from the 
accumulation which takes place upon these floating 
fields, and each recurring year marks an addition to 
their depth. Vast as they are to the sight, and dwarfs 
as they are compared with the inland mer de glace, 
yet they are, in all that concerns their growth, truly 
glaciers — pigmy floating glaciers. That they can 
only grow to such great depth in this manner will be 
at once apparent, when it is borne in mind that ice 
soon reaches a maximum thickness by direct freezing, 
and that its growth is arrested by a natural law. 



AVERAGE THICKNESS OF THE ICE. 313 

This thickness is of course dependent upon the tem- 
perature of the locaHtj ; but the ice is itself the sea's 
protection. The cold air cannot soak away the 
warmth of the water through more than a certain 
thickness of ice, and to that thickness there comes a 
limit lono; before the winter has reached its end. The 
depth of ice formed on the first night is greater than 
on the second ; the second greater than the third ; 
the third greater than the fourth ; and so on as the 
increase approaches nothing. The thickness of ice 
formed at Port Foulke was nine feet ; and, although 
the coldest weather came in March, yet its dejDth was 
not increased more than two inches after the middle 
of February. In situations of greater cold, and where 
the current has less influence than at Port Foulke, 
the depth of the table will of course become greater. 
I have never seen an ice-table formed by direct 
freezing; that exceeded eio^hteen feet. But for this 
all-wise provision of the Deity, the Arctic waters 
would, ages ago, have been solid seas of ice to their 
profoundest depths. 

The reader will, I trust, bear patiently with this 
long digression ; but I thought it necessary, in order 
that he might have a clear understanding as well of 
our situation as of the character of these Arctic seas ; 
in which I shall hope that I have inspired some in- 
terest. As for ourselves, we were struggling along 
through this apparently impassable labyrinth, striv- 
ing to reach the coast which now began to loom up 
boldly before us, and thence stretching away into the 
unknown North, there receives the lashings of the 
Polar Sea. 

To come back to the narrative which we abandoned 
so suddenly. The 24th of April found us on the mar- 



314 SLOW PROGRESS. 

gin of the very floe which I have been describing, 
weary, worn, and much dispirited. Since we broke 
camp at Cairn Point, we had made in a direct line 
from that place not over thirty miles. The number 
of miles actually traveled could not be easily esti- 
mated ; but it was scarcely less than five times that 
distance, counting all our various twistings and turn- 
ings and goings and comings upon our track. But I 
propose again to let my diary speak for itself; and, 
as on a former occasion, when the evil genius of that 
unhappy manuscript led it into type, we will resort to 
a new chapter. 




CHAPTER XXVIII. 

THE DIFFICULTIES MULTIPLYING. — SLEDGE BROKEN. — REFLECTIONS ON THE 
PROSPECT.— THE MEN BREAKING DOWN.— WORSE AND WORSE. —THE SIT- 
UATION.— DEFEAT OF MAIN PARTY.— RESOLVE TO SEND THE PARTY BACK 
AND CONTINUE THE JOURNEY WITH DOGS. 

April 24th. 

These journal entries are becoming rather mono- 
tonous. I have Httle to set down to-day that I did 
not set down yesterday. There is no variety in 
this journeying over the same track, "week in and 
week out, in the same endless snarl continually, — to- 
day almost in sight of our camp of yesterday, the 
sledge broken, the men utterly exhausted, and the 
dogs used up. We are now twenty-two days from the 
schooner, and have made on our course not more than 
an average of three miles a day. From Cairn Point 
we are distant about thirty miles, and our progress 
from that place has been slow indeed. Grinnell Land 
looms up temptingly above the frozen sea to the 
north of us, but it rises very slowly. I have tried to 
carry out my original design of striking for Cape 
Sabine, but the hummocks were wholly impassable in 
that direction, and I have had to bear more to the 
northward. The temperature has risen steadily, but 
it is still very low and colder than during the greater 
part of the winter at Port Foulke. The low^est to- 
day was 19° below zero, calm and clear, and the sun 
blazing upon us as in the early spring-time at home. 



316 REFLECTIONS ON THE PROSPECT. 

April 25th. 

A most distressing day. The sledge was repaired 
in the morning with much difficulty, but not so that 
it held without renewal through the march. The 
traveling grows even worse the further we proceed. 
The hummocks are not heavier, but the recent snows 
have not been disturbed by the wind and lie loose 
.upon the surface, making the labor of dragging the 
sledge much greater than before, even in those few 
level patches with which we have been favored since 
setting out in the morning. 

My party are in a very sorry condition. One of 
the men has sprained his back from lifting ; another 
has a sprained ancle ; another has gastritis ; another 
a frosted toe ; and all are thoroughly overwhelmed 
with fatigue. The men do not stand it as well as the 
dogs. 

Thus far I have not ventured to express in this 
journal any doubts concerning the success of this un- 
dertaking ; but of late the idea has crossed my mind 
that the chances of ever reaching the west coast with 
this party look almost hopeless. The question of the 
boat was decided days ago, and it becomes now a very 
serious subject for reflection, whether it is really likely 
that the men can get over these hummocks to the 
west coast with even provisions enough to bring them 
back. It is almost as much as they can do to trans- 
port their own camp fixtures, which are neither 
weighty nor bulky. 

April 26th. 

The progress to-day has been even more unsatis- 
factory than yesterday. The men are completely 
used up, broken down, dejected, to the last degree. 
Human nature cannot stand it. There is no let up 



THE SITUATION. 317 

to it. Cold; penetrating to the very sources of life, 
dangers from frost and dangers from heavy lifting, 
labors which have no end, — a heartless sticking in 
the mud, as it were, all the time ; and then comes 
snow-blindness, cheerless nights, with imperfect rest 
in snow-huts, piercing storms and unsatisfying food. 
This the daily experience, and this the daily prospect 
ahead ; to-day closing upon us in the same vast ice- 
jungle as yesterday. My party have, I must own, 
good reason to be discouraged ; for human beings 
were never before so beset with difficulties and so in- 
extricably tangled in a wilderness. We got into a 
ciil de sac to-day, and we had as much trouble to sur- 
mount the lofty barrier which bounded it as Jean Val- 
jean to escape from the cul-de-sac Genrot to^ the con- 
vent yard. But our convent yard was a hard old floe, 
scarce better than the hummocked barrier. 

I feel to-night that I am getting rapidly to the end 
of my rope. Each day strengthens the conviction, 
not only that we can never reach Grinnell Land, with 
provisions for a journey up the coast to the Polar Sea, 
but that it cannot be done at all. I have talked to 
the officers, and they are all of this opinion. They 
say the thing is hopeless. Dodge put it thus : " You 
might as well try to cross the city of New York over 
the house-tops !" They are brave and spirited men 
enough, lack not courage nor perseverance ; but it 
does seem as if one must own that there are some 
difficulties which cannot be surmounted. But I have 
in this enterprise too much at stake to own readily to 
defeat, and we will try again to-morrow. 

April 27th. 

Worse and worse ! We have to-day made but 
little progress, the sledge is badly broken, and I am 



318 THE SITUATION. 

brought to a stand-still. There does not appear to be 
the ghost of a chance for me. Must I own myself a 
defeated man ? I fear so. 

I was never m all my life so disheartened as I am 
to-night; not even when, in the midst of a former 
w^inter, I bore up with my party through hunger and 
cold, beset by hostile savages, and, without food or 
means of transportation, encountered the uncertain 
fortunes of the Arctic night in the ineffectual pursuit 
of succor. 

Smith Sound has given me but one succession of 
baffling obstacles. Since I first caught sight of Cape 
Alexander, last autumn, as the vanishing storm uncov- 
ered its grizzly head, I have met with but ill fortune. 
My struggles to reach the west coast were then made 
against embarrassments of the most grave description, 
and they were not abandoned until the winter closed 
upon me wdth a crippled and almost a sinking ship, 
driving me to seek the nearest place of refuge. Then 
my dogs died, and my best assistant became the vic- 
tim of an unhappy accident. Afterward I succeed in 
some measure in replacing the lost teams, on which I 
had depended as my sole reliance ; and here I am 
once more baffled in the middle of the Sound, stuck 
fast and powerless. My men have failed me as a 
means of getting over the difficulties, as those of Dr. 
Kane did before me. Two foot parties sent out by 
that commander to cross the Sound failed. Ulti- 
mately I succeeded in crossing with dogs, but the pas- 
sage was made against almost insuperable difficulties, 
so great that my companion, convinced that starvation 
and death only would result from a continuance of the 
trial, resolved to settle it with a Sharp's rifle ball ; but 
the ball whizzed past my ear, and I got to the shore 



MEN USED UP. 319 

notwithstanding, — discovered Grinnell Land, and 
surveyed two hundred miles of its coast. But the ice 
is now infinitely worse than it was then ; and I am 
convinced that the difhculties of this journey have 
now culminated and the crisis has been reached. The 
men are, as I have before observed, completely ex- 
hausted from the continued efforts of the past week, 
and are disheartened by the contemplation of the lit- 
tle progress that was made as well as by the formi- 
dable nature of the hummocks in front, which they 
realize are becoming; more and more difficult to sur- 
mount as they penetrate farther and farther into them. 
Their strength has been giving way under the incessant 
and extraordinary call upon their energies, at temper- 
atures in which it is difficult to exist even under the 
most favorable circumstances, each realizing that upon 
his jDersonal exertions depends the only chance of 
making any progress, and recognizing that after all 
their efforts and all their sacrifices the progress made 
is wholly inadequate to accomplish the object in view. 
Besides this prostration of the moral sentiments, there 
is the steady and alarming prostration of the physical 
forces. One man is incapacitated from work by having 
his back sprained in lifting ; another is rendered useless 
by having his ancle sprained in falling ; the freezing 
of the fing-ers and toes of others renders them almost 

o 

helpless ; and the vital energies of the whole party 
are so lowered by exposure to the cold that they are 
barely capable of attending to their own immediate 
necessities, without harboring a thought of exerting 
themselves to complete a journey to which they can 
see no termination, and in the very outset of which 
they feel that their lives are being sacrificed. 

It is, therefore, in consideration of the condition of 



320 THE CONCLUSION. 

my men, that I have been forced to the conclusion 
that the attempt to cross the Sound with sledges has 
resulted in failure ; and that my only hope to accom- 
plish that object now rests in the schooner. Having 
the whole of the season before me, I think that I can, 
even without steam, get over to Cape Isabella, and 
work thence up the west shore ; and, even should I not 
be able to get as flir up the Sound as I once hoped, 
yet I can, no doubt, secure a harbor for next winter 
in some eligible position. Coming to this conclusion, 
I have determined to send back the men, and I have 
given McCormick full directions what to do, in order 
that the vessel may be prepared wdien the ice breaks 
up and liberates her. He is to cradle the schooner in 
the ice by digging around her sides ; repair the dam- 
age done last autumn, and mend the broken spars, 
and patch the sails. 

For myself, I stay to fight away at the battle as 
best I can, with my dogs. 

The men have given me twenty-five days of good 
service, and have aided me nearly half way across 
the Sound with about eight hundred pounds of food ; 
and this is all that they can do. Their work is 
ended. 

Although the chance of getting through with the 
dogs looks hopeless ; yet, hopeless though the pros- 
pect, I feel that, when disembarrassed of the men, I 
ought to make one further effort. I have picked my 
companions, and have given them their orders. They 
w^ill be Knorr, Jensen, and sailor McDonald, — plucky 
men all, if I mistake not, and eager for the journey. 
There are others that are eager to go with me ; but, 
if they have courage and spirit, they have little phys- 
ical strength ; and, besides, more than two persons to 



ONE MORE EFFORT. 321 

one sledge is superfluous. And now when 1 think of 
this new trial which I shall make to-morrow, my 
hopes revive ; but when I remember the fruitless 
struggles of the past few days and think of these 
hummocks, with peak after peak rising one above the 
other, and with ridge after ridge in endless succession 
intersecting each other at all angles and in all direc- 
tions, I must own that my heart almost fails me and 
my thoughts incline me to abandon the effort and re- 
treat from what everybody, from Jensen down, says 
cannot be done, and rely upon the schooner for cross- 
ing the Sound. But I have not failed yet ! I 
have fourteen dogs and three picked men left to me ; 
and now, abandoning myself to the protecting care of 
an all-wise Providence, who has so often led me to 
success and shielded me from danger, I renew the 
struggle to-morrow with hope and determination. 
Away with despondency ! 



21 




CHAPTER XXIX. 

THE MAIN PARTY SENT BACK. — PLUNGING INTO THE HUMMOCKS AGAIN.— 
ADVANTAGES OF DOGS. —CAMP IN AN ICE-CAVE. —NURSING THE DOGS.— 
SNOW-BLINDNESS. -A CHAPTER OF ACCIDENTS. — CAPE HAWKS.— CAPE NA- 
POLEON—STORM STAYED. — GRINNELL LAND LOOMING UP. — DISCOVERING 
A SOUND. —RAVENOUS DISPOSITION OF DOGS. — A CHEERLESS SUPPER.— 
CAMPING IN THE OPEN AIR.— PROSTRATION OF MEN AND DOGS.— BIAKING 
THE LAND AT LAST. 

April 28tli. 
I SENT the main party back this morning. The 
separation was quite affecting. They were the worst 
used-up body of men that I have ever chanced to see. 
I accompanied them for a short distance, and, with 
much sadness, parted from them and returned to 
camp. Upon looking around to see what progress 
they were making, I observed that they had halted 
and were facing toward us, evidently designing to 
give us three parting cheers. But the case was hope- 
less — there was not a squeak left in them. Soon 
after the party had gone, we plunged again into the 
hummocks. We had a terrible ridge to get ovei^, and 
took only half the cargo, intending to return for the 
balance. Knorr's sledge broke down, and it was re- 
paired with difficulty. Jensen's sledge tumbled over 
a declivity which we were descending, and injured a 
leg of one of the dogs. The poor animal was turned 
loose, and has hobbled along with us to camp. We 
made about a mile and a half, and then turned back 
for the balance of the stores. This mile and a half 
has, by the tortuous route pursued, been j)rolonged 



0^ 



SNOW BLINDNESS. 323 

into near four, — making, with the three times going 
over it, about twelve. I have not before had so bad 
a day ; and yet the men could not possibly have 
brought their sledge through at all. The dogs climb 
the hummocks with the facility of the chamois mount- 
ing the Alpine crags. One advantage they possess 
is, that they are not so heavy as the men and do not 
so readily break through the crusted snow ; and then, 
the sledges being smaller, are more easily managed. 
We have reached a most formidable ridge of hum- 
mocks which we were too much exhausted to scale ; 
and have camped in a sort of cave made by the 
crowding over of some ice-tables, thus saving the 
labor of making a burrow ; and it came most oppor- 
tunely ; for Jensen, owing to the uncertain footing, 
discarded his glasses, and is in consequence suffering 
from incipient snow-blindness, and would have been 
unable to assist in digging our usual nightly pit into 
a snow-drift. Our quarters are very tight and more 
than usually comfortable, — the temperature being up 
to wdthin 10° of the freezing point, while, outside, it 
is 12° below zero. 

We set out in the morning with much spirit, but 
are gloomy enough to-night. Such slow progress, 
with so much labor, is not inspiring. Sleep is our 
only consolation, and I am glad the temperature is 
sufficiently high to enable us to repose without freez- 
ing. Sleep, that has before drowned many a sorrow 
for many a weary and care-worn man, has drowned 
many a one of mine during these past twenty-five 
days. It is 

" Tired Nature's sweet restorer," 

among these ice-deserts, even more than elsewhere ; 
and our sleep is truly the "sleep of the laboring 



324 CANINE FEROCITY. 

man." Foolish Sancho Panza ! yet wise in thy folly ! 
Mankind will long remember thee for thy sage reflec- 
tion, — " Now blessings light on him that first in- 
vented sleep." I will cover myself all over with it, 
as thou didst ; and, if I cannot find in it " heat for the 
cold," I will cloak with it for a few brief hours the 
recollection of my disappointed hopes. 

AprH 29th. 

Back again under our last night's shelter. The 
hummocks were much the same to-day as yesterday, 
and we made about the same progress — with, how- 
ever, only half our stores. The load was left buried 
in the snow, and we returned for the balance ; but, 
upon arriving here, the dogs were not able for the 
second trip. So here we are under our buffaloes once 
more in the ice-cave, seeking sleep. It is the best 
hut that I have ever had. The temperature of the air 
came up at noon to 4^" above zero, and in the sun it 
was 38''. The thermometer hanging above my head 
in the cave how shows 31°. 

April 30th. 
It was all we could do to bring up the balance of 
our cargo to where we cached our load yesterday. I 
must not overtax the dogs ; for, if they give out, I 
am done for. They are much fatigued to-night and 
must be nursed ; so I directed Jensen to make them 
a warm supper of meat and potatoes and lard, and 
plenty of it. Nothing could exceed their ravenous 
hunger. The ferocity with which they tear into their 
food exceeds any thing that I have ever seen, and 
nothing escapes their sharp fangs. They eat up their 
harness if not closely watched, and w^e are obliged to 
bring every thing made of skin inside the hut. Sev- 
eral of the traces have disappeared down their rapa- 



THE COAST IN VIEW. 325 

cioiis throats ; and, with these swallowings and the 
breakings, we are now so badly off that we must fall 
back upon rope to replace the skin lines. To add 
to our embarrassments, Jensen forgot last night to 
cover over his sledge, (Knorr's makes the roof of our 
hut,) and when we went out in the morning, the 
sledge was torn to pieces, the lashings were all eaten, 
and the pieces of the sledge were scattered over the 
snow all around the camp. 

I have nearly eight hundred pounds of dog food, 
but the daily drain is very great ; and this, taken in 
connection with the slowness of our progress, looks 
unpromising. 

May 1st. 

We found it impossible to get on to-day with even 
one half the cargo, and were therefore forced to make 
three parcels of it, — one of which I estimate that 
we have brought nine miles, as traveled, though prob- 
ably not one third that distance in a straight line. It 
is impossible to describe the nature of the ice over 
which we have struggled. It is even worse than 
any thing we have encountered before. The run of 
to-day has brought the coast quite conspicuously in 
view. I am coming upon my old survey of 1854, and 
am not far from my return track at that time ; but 
how different the condition of the ice ! Then my 
principal difficulty was in the outward journey, due 
north from Van Eensselaer Harbor. Returning fur- 
ther down the Sound, near where we now are, the ice 
was found to be but little broken, and I crossed from 
shore to shore in two days. 

I have now a much finer opportunity for observa- 
tion than I had then, for there was on the former oc- 
casion much fog, and I was constantly snow-blind. 



326 STORM-STAYED. 

The coast of Grinnell Land is clearly somewhat fur- 
ther north than I then placed it ; for we are by my 
observation and reckoning, w^ithin ten miles of the 
shore, if the maj) is correct. The two bold capes to 
which Dr. Kane applied the names Bache and Henry 
(the Victoria Head and Cape Albert, of Captain Ingle- 
field) appear to be large islands, in the mouth of a 
sound from thirty to forty miles wide. I reserve 
further judgment for further observation. 

Two very conspicuous headlands appear upon the 
coast : one, lying almost due north, stands out with a 
dark front, presenting a mural face at least 1500 feet 
high. On my former journey I gave to it the name 
of Louis Napoleon, in honor of the remarkable man 
who, as Emperor of France, was then first beginning 
to exhibit to the world the greatness of his powers. 
It stands on the north side of a very conspicuous bay. 
More directly in our course and nearer to us is the other 
bold cape, to which Dr. Kane, on my return from the 
survey of this coast, appended my own name ; but, 
since there was some confusion in the maps after- 
ward between the names Hawks and Hayes, I have 
discarded the latter ; and this immense rock, to which 
Gibraltar is a pigmy, will hereafter bear the name of 
Cape Hawks. The whole coast before us is very bold, 
and the mountain-23eaks loom up loftily. 

May 2d. 

Storm-stayed in the camp of yesterday, and miser- 
able enough. We came back in the morning for an- 
other load, and, when ready to f,eturn, it was blowing 
and drifting so hard from the north that we could not 
face it, and so were forced to seek .shelter. The rest 
is much needed by the dogs, and this is my only sat- 
isfaction. Our camp fixtures were all left in the 



A FINE DAY'S RUN. 327 

camp of last night, and we have nothing to lie upon 
but the snow, which is only a shade softer than ice. 
Out of one of our provision tins we made a kettle, 
and of another a lamp, and so got some supper. Jen- 
sen is still partially snow-blind, and his sufferings have 
not diminished. This snow-blindness is simply an in- 
flammation of the entire eye-ball, originating in the 
retina in consequence of the intense light produced 
by the glare of the sun reflected from the universal 
whiteness. 

aiay 3(1. 

The storm detained us in our miserable den for 
twelve hours. The rest did the dogs good, and we 
have made the cheeriest day's w^ork yet. But, as 
every rose has its thorn, so every day must have its 
drawback. Jensen, stumbling along with his bad 
eyes, got his leg into a crack and gave it a severe 
wrench. He tells me that the leg was broken two 
years ago ; and the fracture having been oblique, and 
the parts allowed to overlap each other while healing, 
the union has been imperfect. 

May 4th. 

A fine day's run. We had some smooth ice, and 
got on briskly. Jensen's snow-blindness has disap- 
peared, and our route having led us over old floes, his 
leg has not hurt him much and has improved. He is 
now digging a pit for our night shelter, and sings a 
Danish song as cheerily as the grave-digger in Ham- 
let. Knorr and McDonald are chopping up the cakes 
of desiccated beef for the dogs ; and the wolfish 
brutes fill the air with the most hideous cries. The 
spectral pack of the wild Hartz huntsman never split 
the ear of belated traveler with more awful sounds 
than those which come from the throats of my wild 



328 THE "DELECTABLE MOUNTAINS." 

beasts at this present moment. The wretches would 
eat us up if we gave them the least chance. Knorr 
stumbled among the pack yesterday, while feeding 
them, and, had not McDonald pounced upon them on 
the instant, I believe they would have made a meal 
of him before he could rise. 

The hour is exactly midnight, and, for the first 
time since starting, I write in the open air. The tem- 
perature is only one degree below zero, and a more 
beautiful sunshine never was beheld. This vast sea 
of whiteness, this great wilderness of glittering peaks, 
possesses a stern, quiet sublimity that is wonderfully 
imposing. The mountains before us. unUke those of 
the Greenland coast, stand up in • multiplied lines of 
heaven-piercing cones, looking like giant stacks of 
cannon-balls, sprinkled with snow. The midnight sun 
streams over them from the north, and softens their 
outlines through tinted vapors which float from the 
eastward. Oh ! that I was across the barrier that 
separates me from that land of my desires ! Those 
mountains are my '•' delectable mountains," — the 
fleecy clouds which rest upon them are the flocks of 
the " city " of my ambitious hopes — the mystic sea 
which I am seeking through these days of weariness 
and toil. 

I have had some fine sights and excellent solar 
bearings from a position determined by solar altitude, 
and am now firmly convinced that a Sound opens 
westward from Smith Sound, overlooked by me in 
1854 ; and that the whole coast of Grinnell Land was 
placed by me too far south. 

May 5th. 

A perfectly killing day, and I have little progress 
to record. Our afi^airs look rather blue. Jensen 



A RAVENOUS PACK. 329 

complains again of his leg, and was unable to proceed 
further when we camped. He is groaning with the 
pain. Knorr sticks at the work with a tenacity and 
spirit most admirable. He has never once confessed 
fatigue ; and yet, to-night, after the severe labors of 
the day in lifting the sledge, and the endless trouble 
and confusion with the dogs, when I asked him if he 
was tired and wanted to camp, his answer was a 
prompt, " No, sir." And yet, when w^e did camp and 
the work was done, I found him keeled over behind a 
hummock, where he had gone to conceal his prostra- 
tion and faintness, — but there was no faintness of 
the spirit. McDonald never shows eagerness for the 
halt, but the labor is beginning to tell upon him. He 
has the true grit of the thorough-bred bull-dog, and 
holds to his work like a sleuth-hound to the scent. 

Let me finish my grievances. The dogs again show 
symptoms of exhaustion, — my own fault, however, in 
some measure, for I have watched with miserly care 
every ounce of food ; and, last night, I gave to each 
animal only one and a half j^ounds. Result — as I 
have stated ; and, besides, to revenge themselves, they 
broke into Jensen's sledge, which, owing to the fatigue 
of everybody, was not unlashed, but covered instead 
w^ith three feet of snow. The brutes scattered every 
thing around, tried to tear open our tin meat- cans 
with their wolfish fangs, and ate up our extra boots, 
the last scrap of skin-line that was left, some fur stock- 
ings, and made* an end of Knorr's seal-skin covered 
meerschaum pipe, which he had imprudently hung 
upon the upstander. Hemp lines now make the 
sledge lashings and traces, and, as a consequence, the 
sledges are continually tumbling to pieces and the 
traces are constantly breaking. Another dog tore 



330 A COLD SUPPER. 

open a seal-skin tobacco-pouch, shook out its contents, 
and ate it ; and another bolted our only piece of soap. 
This looks bad for our future cleanliness, but thirty- 
two days, at these low temperatures, have worn off the 
sharp edge of fastidiousness. At first we had always 
a morning wash with a handful of snow ; but latterly 
we are not so particular, and we shall not grieve over 
the soap as much as we might have done some weeks 
ago. 

Our provisions are disappearing with alarming ra- 
pidity ; and yet, whenever I stint the dogs in the least, 
down they go. If the dogs fail me, then nothing can 
be done, and I am completely at fault. Two days 
more must surely bring us to land. We are making 
in for Cape Hawks, but we are compelled to own that 
the Cape grows from day to day very little bolder. 
The numerous baitings to rest the dogs, and the 
forced halts caused by the breaking of the sledges 
and traces, when I can do nothing to speed the start, 
give me fine opportunities for plotting the coast ; and 
my " field-book " and " sketch-book " are both well 
used. 

May 6th. 

A most miserable day's work brought to a most 
miserable end. McDonald spilled our smoking-hot 
supper on the snow ; and, as we could not afford a 
second allowance of fuel (lard and rope-yarns), w^e 
were in as great danger of going to bed supperless as 
Baillie Nicol Jarvie, at the Clachan of Aberfoil, be- 
fore the red-hot coulter brought the churly Highland- 
ers to reason ; but, luckily, McDonald managed, much 
to our satisfaction, to scrape up the greater part of 
the hash along with the snow, and we ate it cold. 
The cofiee was, however, of course, irrecoverable, and 



BROKEN SLEDGES. 331 

we are turning in cheerless enough in consequence. 
The temperature has tumbled down again to 10" be- 
low zero, and writing is not pleasant to the fingers 
when the thermometer behaves in this manner. 

May 7 th. 

Another edition of all the other days. We have 
made but little progress, to reward us for a most ener- 
getic day's labor, and are flat down with two broken 
sledges. Of one a runner is split, and Jensen declares 
that he has mended it so often that he can mend it 
no more ; but a few hours' sleep will sharpen his wits, 
I hope. We are a rather lamentable-looking set of 
travelers. With too little energy to build a snow hut, 
we have drawn the sledges together and are going to 
sleep on them, in the open air. The night is reason- 
ably warm, — temperature above zero, and sleeping 
may be managed ; but we miss the grateful warmth 
of the snow hut. The truth is, that the labors of the 
day cause us to perspire as if we were in the tropics, 
and hence our clothing becomes wet through and 
through ; the coat freezes stiff and solid as sheet- 
iron as soon as we halt, and we experience all over 
the uncomfortable sensation of "packing" in wet 
sheets at a water-cure. 

May 8th. 

Battling away as before. I felt sure that we would 
"reach the land to-day, but it appears no nearer than 
when we set out this morning. Sledges, harness, 
dogs and men are all tumbling to pieces. 

May 9th. 
Still battling away ; but, this time, through fog and 
snow, bedeviled all the day in a lifeless atmosphere, 
thick. as the gloom of Hades. 



332 "CAPE FLY-AWAY." 

May 10th. 
At the same hopeless work again ; and again we 
go into camp among the hummocks. I dare not hope 
that we will reach the shore to-morrow, for I have 
been so often disappointed ; but the shore idll be 
reached some time, if there is an ounce of food left 
or a doo; left alive to drao- it with. I have settled 
down into a sort of dogged determination. 

May llth. 

In camp at last, close under the land ; and as happy 
as men can be who have achieved success and await 
supper. 

As we rounded to in a convenient place for our 
camp, McDonald looked up at the tall Cape, which 
rose above our heads ; and, as he turned away to get 
our furnace to prepare a much-needed meal, he was 
heard to grumble out in a serio-comic tone : " Well, 
I wonder if that is land, or only ' Cape Fly-away/ 
after all ? " 





^^^Pffijt^^S^^ 




^i 





^^^-^' 



/''/ 



CHAPTER XXX. 

THE PROSPECT AHEAD. — TO CAPE NAPOLEON.— TO CAPE FRAZER. — TRACES OP 
ESQUIMAUX. — ROTTEN ICE. — KENNEDY CHANNEL. — MILDNESS OF TEMPER- 
ATURE. — APPEARANCE OF BIRDS. — GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF COAST.— 
VEGETATION. — ACCIDENT TO JENSEN. 

Although much gratified with the success which I 
had achieved against sach desperate obstacles, yet, 
when I came to reflect upon my situation, in connec- 
tion with the expectations -^hich I had entertained 
at setting out, I had little heart to feel triumphant. 
The thirty-one days occupied in crossing the Sound, 
the failure to get the boat, or even a foot party over, 
had disarranged my original plans ; while the severity 
of the labor, and the serious and unexpected draft 
made upon my provisions by the extra feeding of the 
dogs, in order to keep up their strength, had so much 
reduced my resources that, for the present season, I 
could have little hope of making any extended ex- 
ploration. Under ordinary conditions of traveling, 
much less than one half the amount of food which I 
gave to the animals daily would have amply sufficed 
for their sustenance. As it was, the eight hundred 
pounds of dog-food which I had when the foot party 
left me, was reduced by consumption and small de- 
pots for our return journey to about three hundred 
pounds, — in no case more than sufficient for twelve 
days. The most that I could now expect to do was 
to explore the route to the shores of the Polar Sea, as 



334 SLOWNESS OF PROGRESS. 

a basis for further exploration to follow the event of 
ray reaching the west side of Smith Sound with my 
vessel late in the summer ; in other words, to ascer- 
tain what chance there was of carrying into effect 
my original design, which the circumstance of being 
forced into a winter harbor on the Greenland coast, 
instead of the coast opposite, had disturbed. 

The extracts from my field diary, given in the last 
chapter, will have shown the reader the slowness of 
our progress ; while a former chapter will have so far 
satisfied him concerning the track over which we had 
recently traveled as to make any review of it in this 
connection unnecessary. Although anticipating at the 
outset a grave obstacle in the hummocks, I was un- 
prepared to encounter them in such formidable shape ; 
and the failure of the foot party to make headway 
through them was a serious blow to my expectations. 
I had, however, prepared myself for every emergency, 
and looked forward to making up w^iat I had lost by 
remaining in Smith's Sound another year. 

The journey across the Sound from Cairn Point 
was unexampled in Arctic traveling. The distance 
from land to land, as the croAv flies, did not exceed 
eighty miles ; and yet, as hitherto observed, the jour- 
ney consumed thirty-one days, — but little more than 
two miles dail3^ The track, however, which we were 
forced to choose, was often at least three times that 
of a straight line ; and since almost every mile of that 
tortuous route was traveled over three and often five 
times, in bringing up the separate portions of our 
cargo, our actual distance did not probably average 
less than sixteen miles daily, or about five hundred 
miles in all, between Cairn Point and Cape Hawks. 
The last forty miles, made with dog-sledges alone, oc- 



WADING THROUGPI DEEP SNOW. 335 

CLipiecl fourteen days — a circumstance wliicli will of 
itself exhibit the difficult nature of the undertaking, 
especially when it is borne in mind that forty miles to 
an ordinary team of dogs, over usually fair ice, is a 
triflino; matter for five hours, and would not fatio;ue 
the team half so much as a single hour's pulling of 
the same load over such hummocks as confronted us 
throughout this entire journey. 

In order to obtain the best result wdiich the Esqui- 
mau dog is capable of yielding, it is essential that he 
shall be able to trot away with his load. To walk at 
a dead drag is as distressing to his spirits and ener- 
gies as the hauling of a dray would be to a blooded 
horse ; and he will much more readily run away with 
a hundred pounds over good ice than to pull one- 
fourth of that weight over a track which admits only 
of a slow pace. 

We did not halt longer at Cape Hawks than was 
needful to rest the teams, when we commenced our 
journey up the coast. The first day's march carried 
us across the wide bay between Capes Hawks and 
Napoleon. We were rejoiced to find ourselves now, 
for the first time, able to carry our cargo all at one 
load \ and yet the traveling was far from good. Ow- 
ing to the conformation of the coast, the bay had 
been sheltered from the winds, and the snows of the 
winter, in consequence, lay loose upon the surface of 
the ice. We had, however, no alternative but to cross 
the bay, for to go outside was to plunge again into 
the hummocks. The snow^s had accumulated to the 
depth of more than two feet, through which the wad- 
ing was very toilsome. The sledge cut in to the cross- 
ties, and the dogs sank to their bellies ; and, to make 
the matter worse, Jensen's leg gave out so that it 



336 KENNEDY CHANNEL. 

became necessary to transfer a part of his load to 
Knorr's sledge, in order that he might ride. Not 
wishing to be detained by this circumstance, I put a 
belt across McDonald's shoulders, took one myself, 
and gave one to Knorr, and we each pulled, I dare 
say, as much as the best dog in the team. 

On the second day's march the ice was found to be 
jammed in a terrible manner upon Cape Napoleon, so 
that we were quite unable to reach the shore at that 
place, and were forced to hold out into the Sound and 
become once more entangled among the hummocks. 
A thick fog, completely veiling the land, coming upon 
us from the north, and a shower of snow following 
after, caused us so much bewilderment that we were 
obliged to camp and await better weather. 

The land-ice was reached next mornino-, and durino; 
that day we made a brisk run to the north side of 
Cape Frazer — the first time that we had struck a 
trot since leaving Cairn Point. Our camp was made 
near the furthest point reached by me in 1854. 

We were now within Kennedy Channel, which I 
had before barely entered. The ice in the entrance 
of the Channel was much like that of the Sound be- 
low ; so that we were obliged to adhere to the land- 
ice, even while crossing Gould Bay,^ which lies be- 
tween Capes Leidy and Frazer, and which I once 
thought would furnish a good winter harbor. Indeed, 
this was the bay which it was my aim to reach with 
ray vessel the previous autumn. The little flag-staff^ 
which I had before planted at this place, was discov- 
ered, still standing erect among the rocks ; but not a 
vestige of the flag remained. The winds had whipped 
it entirely away. 

1 So named in honor of Dr. B. A. Gould, of Cambrido;e. 



TRACES OF ESQUIMAUX. 337 

While rounding the head of Gould Bay, I observed 
that, as at Port Foulke, Van Rensselaer Harbor, and 
indeed in almost every bay of the Greenland coast 
which I have visited above Cape York, the land rises 
with a gentle slope, broken into steppes of greater 
or less regularity, — a series of terraced beaches, the 
hia-liest of which I estimated to be from one hundred 
and twenty to one hundred and fifty feet above the 
sea. To these terraces I shall have occasion hereafter 
to refer, and will not now longer detain the reader 
than merely to observe that they indicate a consecu- 
tive elevation of the two coasts. I also found in that 
Bay the remains of an Esquimau camp. The marks 
were quite unmistakable in their character although 
of very ancient date. The discovery was the more 
gratifying, that it confirmed the native traditions 
which had been recited to me by Kalutunah. They 
were a single circle of heavy stones lying upon the 
shingly terrace. The circle was about twelve feet in 
diameter, and is such as may be seen in all places 
where Esquimaux have been in the summer time. 
The stones answer the purpose of securing the lower 
margin of their seal-skin tent ; and, when they break 
up camp, the skins are drawn out, leaving the stones 
in the situation above described. 

The journey of the next day was the most satis- 
factory of any that had been made, yet it had its 
drawbacks. As we proceeded, we began to experi- 
ence in even a greater degree than in Smith Sound 
the immense force of ice-pressure resulting from the 
southerly set of the current. Every point of land 
exposed to the northward was buried under ice of the 
most massive description. Many blocks from thirty 
to sixty feet thick, and of much greater breadth, were 

22 



338 ROTTEN ICE. 

lying high and dry upon the beach, pushed up by the 
resistless pack even above the level of the highest 
tides. The first embarrassment to our progress occa- 
sioned by tliis cause occurred soon after setting out 
from our camp above Cape Frazer, and being wholly 
unable to pass it, we were obliged to take once more 
to the ice-fields. But this was a matter not easilj^ ac- 
complished. The tide was out, apparently at fidl ebb, 
and the land-ice formed a wall, down which we were 
obliged to scramble. By lashing the two sledges to- 
gether we made a ladder, and thus secured our own 
descent ; while the dogs were lowered by their traces, 
and the cargo piece by piece with a line. The field- 
ice was, however, found to be, in addition to its rough- 
ness, in many places very rotten and insecure, so that 
after one of the teams had broken through and was 
rescued not without difficulty, we found ourselves 
compelled to haul in shore and take once more to the 
land-ice. Being thenceforth under the necessity of 
following all the windings of the shore line, our dis- 
tance was at least doubled, and when we hauled up 
for the night both ourselves and the dogs were very 
weary. 

Although much exhausted with the day's journey, 
I availed myself of the time consumed by my com- 
panions in preparing the camp and supper to climb 
the hill-side for a view. The air was quite clear, and 
I commanded an uninterrupted horizon to the east- 
ward. The ice was much less rough than that whicli 
we had crossed in Smith Sound, owing to the old floes 
having been less closely impacted while that part of 
the sea was freezing up during the last autumn or 
winter. Hence, there was much more new ice. It 
was evident that the sea had been open to a very 



MILDNESS OF TEMPERATURE. 339 

late period ; and, indeed, like the water off Port 
Foiilke, had not closed up comjDletely until the 
spring. I was much surprised to see the ice so 
thin and washed away thus early in the season. 
Small patches of open water were visible at points 
where the conformation of the coast w^arranted the 
conclusion that an eddy of the current had operated 
upon the ice more rapidly than in other places. 

I was struck with the circumstance that no land 
was visible to the eastward, as it would not have been 
difficult through such an atmosphere to distinguish 
land at the distance of fifty or sixty miles. It 
would appear, therefore, that Kennedy Channel is 
something wider than hitherto supposed. To the 
northeast the sky was dark and cloudy, and gave 
evidence of water ; and Jensen, who watched the 
rapid advance of the season with solicitude, was not 
slow to direct my attention to the " water-sky." 

The temperature of the air was strangely mild, and 
indeed distressingly so for traveling, although it pos- 
sessed its conveniences in enabling us to sleep upon 
our sledges in the open air with comfort. The lowest 
temperature during the day was 20°; while, at one time, 
it rose to the freezing-point, — the sun blazing down 
upon us while we trudged on under our heavy load 
of furs. The day seemed really sultry. To discard 
our furs and travel in our shirt-sleeves was of course 
our first impulse ; but to do so added to the load on 
the sledges, and it was of the first importance that 
the dogs should be spared every pound of unneces- 
sary weight ; so each one carried his own coat upon 
his back, and perspired after his own fashion. 

This unseasonable warmth operated greatly to our 
disadvantage. The snow became slushy, and with so 



340 APPEARANCE OF BIRDS. 

greati a distance of ice between us and Port Foulke, 
Jensen, whose experience in the rapid dissolution of 
ice about Upernavik, at the same season of the year, 
had brought him into many serious difficulties, kept 
a sharp eye open upon our line of retreat. But dan- 
ger from a general break-up I did not consider as 
likely to come for at least a month. Yet the spring 
(if such it might be called) was approaching rapid- 
ly, as was showm by the appearance of birds. As 
I stood upon the hill-side some little snow-buntings 
came chirping about me, and a burgomaster-gull flew 
over our heads wheeling; his flight northward. He 
seemed to have caught the sound of tumbling seas, 
and was leading his mate, who came sailing along 
after him with modest mien, to a nuptial retreat on 
some wave-licked island ; and he screamed as if he 
would inquire, were we too bound on the same 
errand. A raven, too, came and perched himself 
upon a cliff above our camp, and croaked a dismal 
welcome, or a warning. One of these birds had 
kept us company through the winter, and this one 
looked very much as if he M^as bent upon adhering 
to my fortunes ; though, I suppose, in truth, he was 
only looking for crumbs. He stuck by us for several 
days, and always dropped down into our abandoned 
camp as soon as we were on our way. 

The coast along which we were now traveling pos- 
sessed much interest. It presented a line of very 
lofty cliffs of Silurian rocks ^ — sandstone and lime- 

1 At Capes Leidy, Frazer, and othei- points of the coast I subsequently 
obtained a considerable collection of fossils, — all of which were forwarded 
to the Smithsonian Institution, at Washington, soon after my return home. 
Unhappily, the finest of them were lost after having been sent from 
Philadelphia ; but a sufficient number of specimens were found among the 
geological collections to enable Prof. F. B. Meek, to whom I intrusted 
them, to establish some interesting points of comparison. In a short paper 



GEOLOGICAL FEATURES OF COAST. 341 

stone — much broken clown by the wasting influences 
of the winter frosts and summer thaws. Behind these 
chffs the land rose into lofty peaks, such as I have be- 
fore described. Upon the sides of these peaks the 
snow rested, clothing them with a uniform whiteness ; 
but nowhere was there any evidence of mountain- 
ice. Alono- the entire coast of Grinnell Land no arla- 

o o 

cier appears, presenting thus a striking contrast to 
Greenland and the land on the south side of the 
Channel which I discovered while crossing Smith 
Sound — the EUesmere Land of Captain Inglefield. 

During this day's journey I had discovered numer- 
ous traces of the former presence of Esquimaux. 
They were similar to those which I had before found 
in Gould Bay. I also picked up some fossils at Cape 
Frazer and other places, which clearly exhibited the 
character of the rock. There were but few traces of 
vegetation in those places where the land had been 
bared of snow by the v/inds. A wallow stem (prob- 
ably, salix ardica), a single specimen of a dead saxi- 
frage {saxifraga oppositifolia), and a tuft of dried grass 
{festuca ovina), were all that I found. 

published in Sllliman's Journal, for July, 1865, Prof. Meek enumerates 
and describes twelve species. Some of the specimens were imperfect, and 
their specific character could not be determined. The list is as follows : — 

1. Zaplirentis Hayesii. 7. Rhynclionella * * * *. 

2. Syringopora * * » *. 8. Ccelospira concava. 

3. Favosites * * * * 9. Spirifer * * * *. 

4. StropJiomena Rliomboidalis. 1 0. Loxonema Kanei. 

5. Strophodorda Headleyana. 11 Orthoceras * * * *. 

6. Stropkodonia Beckil. 12. Illmnus * * * *. 

Prof Meek makes this observation : — " From the foregoing list, it is 
believed that geologists will agree that the rocks at this highest locality at 
which fossils have ever been collected, belong to the Upper Silurian era. 
The most remarkable fact, however, is, that they are nearly all very 
closely allied to, and some of them apparently undistinguishable from 
species found in the Catsklll shaly Limestone of the New York Lower 



342 ACCIDENT TO JEKSEN. 

If fortunate in point of distance accomplished, yet 
the day was not all that I had hoped. The land-ice 
was exceedingly rough, and it was not without much 
difficulty that we effected a passage around some of 
the points. In one of our most difficult encounters 
of this nature, Jensen slipped, and again injured his 
leg, and afterwards sprained his back while lifting his 
sledge. In consequence of these accidents our prog- 
ress was much retarded during the following day, and 
involved me again in serious embarrassment. My 
diary thus sums up our situation : — 

May loth. 

Jensen, my strongest man and the one upon whose 
physical endurance I have always relied most confi- 
dently, is not only fatigued but completely broken 
down. He lies on the sledge, moaning and groaning 
with pain from a sprained back and his injured leg ; 
and what to do with him I do not see. He appears 
to be unable to go further, and the only question con- 
cerning him seems to be, how he is to be got home. 
With anything like a fair field, I ought to reach about 
lat. 83°, but the loss of Jensen's muscular strength is 
damaging to me. The track has been execrable to- 
day ; and yet, all things considered, we have done 
very well. We have made, at the least, twenty miles. 
McDonald is pretty well used up, and Knorr is quite 
as bad, if he could be got to own it. Jensen's suffer- 
ings have naturally affected his spirits ; and with 
these long hundreds of miles lying behind us, it is 
perhaps not surprising that his only present expecta- 
tion will be realized, if his bones are left t© bleach 
among these barren rocks. What I shall do to- 
morrow, the morrow must determine. Thanks to 
careful nursing, I have yet my dogs in fair condition ; 
and that is the best part of the battle. 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

A NEW START. — SPECULATIONS.— IN A FOG.- POLAR SCENERY. — STOPPED BY 
ROTTEN ICE.— LOOKING AHEAD. — CONCLUSIONS. — THE OPEN SEA. — CLI- 
MAX OF THE JOURNEY. — RETURNING SOUTH. 

The unexpected breaking clown of my strong man, 
Jensen, was a misfortune only one degree less keenly 
felt than the previous failure of the foot party, and it 
troubled me much ; for, while I lost the services of a 
stout arm and an active body, I was naturally anxious 
about his safety. With a helpless man on my hands, 
and with four hundred and fifty miles of rough ice 
between me -and the schooner, and with but scant de- 
pots of provision by the way, calculated only for a 
journey with empty sledges, I must own that I was 
somewhat perplexed. 

When the morning came, Jensen was found to have 
improved but little and was scarcely able to move. I 
promptly determined to leave him in charge of Mc- 
Donald, and to push on with Knorr alone. Lest acci- 
dent from rotten ice (the only one that I had to fear) 
should befall me, I left with McDonald five dogs, with 
directions to await us as many days, and then make 
the best of his way back to Port Foulke. 

Our simple breakfast over, I was once more plung- 
ing through the hummocks, making my last throw. 
Our track lay across a bay so deep that the distance 
would be more than quadru|)led if we followed its 
tortuous windings of the shore upon the land-ice. 



344 IN A FOG. 

My purpose now was to make the best push I 
could, and, traveUng as far as my provisions war- 
ranted, reach the highest attainable latitude and 
secure such a point of observation as would enable 
me to form a definite opinion respecting the sea be- 
fore me, and the prospects of reaching and navigating 
it with a boat or with the schooner. I had already 
reached a position somewhat to the northward of that 
attained by Morton, of Dr. Kane's expedition, in June, 
1854, and was looking out upon the same sea from a 
point probably about sixty miles to the northward and 
westward of Cape Constitution, where, only a month 
later in the season, his further progress was arrested 
by open water. 

It only remained for me now to extend the survey 
as far to the north as possible. By the judicious hus- 
banding of my resources I had still within my hands 
ample means to guarantee a successful termination to 
a journey which the increasing darkness and extent 
of the water-sky to the northeast seemed to warn me 
was approaching its climax. 

Our first day's journey was not particularly en- 
couraging. The ice in the bay was rough and the 
snow deep, and, after nine hours of laborious work, 
we were compelled to halt for rest, having made, 
since setting out, not more than as many miles. Our 
progress had been much retarded by a dense fog 
which settled over us soon after starting, and which, 
by preventing us from seeing thirty yards on either 
side, interfered with the selection of a track ; and we 
were, in consequence, forced to pursue our course by 
compass. 

The fog clearing up by the time we had become 
rested, and the land being soon reached, we pursued 



POLAR SCENERY. 345 

our way along the ice-foot with much the same for- 
tune as had beflillen us since striking the shore above 
Cape Napoleon. The coast presented the same feat- 
ures — great wall-sided cliffs rising at our left, with 
a jagged ridge of crushed ice at our right, forming a 
white fringe, as it were, to the dark rocks. We were, 
in truth, journeying along a winding gorge or valley, 
formed by the land on one side and the ice oil the 
other ; for this ice-fringe rose about fifty feet above 
our heads, and, except here and there where a cleft 
gave us an outlook upon the sea, we were as com- 
pletely hemmed in as if in a canon of the Cordille- 
ras. Occasionally, however, a baj' broke in upon the 
continuity of the lofty coast, and as we faced to the 
westward along its southern margin, a sloping ter- 
raced valley opened before us, rising gently from the 
sea to the base of the mountains, which rose with im- 
posing grandeur. I was never more impressed with 
the dreariness and desolation of an Arctic landscape. 
Although my situation on the summit of the Green- 
land me?^ de glace, in October of the last year, had ap- 
parently left nothing unsupplied to the imagination 
that was needed to fill the picture of boundless steril- 
ity, yet here the variety of forms seemed to magnify 
the impression on the mind, and to give a wider play 
to the fancy -, and as the eye wandered from peak to 
peak of the mountains as they rose one above the 
other, and rested upon the dark and frost-degraded 
cliffs, and followed along the ice-foot, and overlooked 
the sea, and saw in every object the silent forces of 
Nature moving on through the gloom of winter and 
the sparkle tDf summer, now, as they had moved for 
countless ages, unobserved but by the eye of God 
alonC; I felt how puny indeed are all men's works and 



346 QUITTING THE LAND-ICE. 

efforts ; and when I sought for some token of living 
thing, some track of wild beast, — a fox, or bear, or 
reindeer, — which had, elsewhere, always crossed me 
in my journeyings, and saw nothing but two feeble 
men and our struggling dogs, it seemed indeed as if 
the Almighty "had frowned upon the hills and seas. 

Since leaving Cairn Point we had looked most 
anxiously for bears ; but although we had seen many 
tracks, especially about Cape Frazer, not a single ani- 
mal had been observed. A bear, indeed, would have 
been a godsend to us. and would have placed me 
wholly beyond anxiety respecting the strength of the 
dogs, as it would not only have put new life into 
them, but would have given them several days of 
more substantial rations than the dried beef which 
they had been so long fed upon. 

After a ten hours' march, we found ourselves once 
more compelled to camp ; and four hours of the fol- 
lowing day brought us to the southern cape of a bay 
which was so deep that, as in other cases of like ob- 
struction, we determined to cross over it rather than 
to follow the shore line. We had gone only a few 
miles when we found our progress suddenly arrested. 
Our course was made directly for a conspicuous head- 
land bounding the bay to the northward, over a strip 
of old ice lining the shore. This headland seemed to 
be about twenty miles from us, or near latitude 82°, 
and I was very desirous of reaching it • but, unhap- 
pily, the old ice came suddenly to an end, and after 
scrambling over the fringe of hummocks which mar- 
gined it, we found ourselves upon ice of the late win- 
ter. The unerring instinct of the dogs warned us of 
approaching danger. They were observed for some 
time to be moving with unusual caution, and finally 






11 



liii 
'I 






liiMfflliiiiia' 




STOPPED BY PvOTTEK ICE. 347 

they scattered to right and left, and refused to pro- 
ceed further. This behavior of the dogs was too famil- 
iar to me to leave any doubt as to its meaning ; and 
moving forward in advance, I quickly perceived that 
the ice was rotten and unsafe. Thinking that this 
might be merely a local circumstance, resulting from 
some peculiarity of the current, we doubled back upon 
the old floe and made another trial further to the 
eastward. Walking now in advance of the dogs they 
were inspired with greater courage. I had not pro- 
ceeded far when I found the ice again giving way 
under the staff, with which I sounded its strength, 
and again we turned back and sought a still more 
eastern passage. 

Two hours consumed in efforts of this kind, during 
which we had worked about four miles out to sea, 
convinced me that the ice outside the bay was 
wholly impassable, and that perseverance could only 
end in disappointment ; for if we happened to break 
through, we should not only be in great jeopardy 
but would, by getting wet, greatly retard, if not 
wholly defeat our progress to the opposite shore. 
Accordingly we drew back toward the land, seeking 
safety again upon the old floe, and hauling then to 
the westward, endeavored to cross over further up 
the bay ; but here the same conditions existed as out- 
side, and the dogs resolutely refused to proceed as 
soon as we left the old ice. Not wishing to be de- 
feated in my purpose of crossing over, we held still 
further west and persevered in our efforts until con- 
vinced that the bay could not be crossed, and then we 
had no alternative but to retreat to the land-ice and 
follow its circuit to our destination. 

With the view of ascertaining how far this course 



348 VIEW FROM THE CLIFF. 

was likely to carry us from a direct line, I walked, 
while the dogs were resting, a few miles along the 
shore until I could see the head of the bay, distant 
not less than twenty miles. To make this long de- 
tour would occupy at least two if not three days, — 
an undertaking not justified by the state of our pro- 
visions, — and we therefore went into camp, weary 
with more than twelve hours' work, to await the issue 
of further observation on the morrow. 

Surprised at the condition of the ice in the bay, I 
determined to climb the hill above the camp, with the 
view of ascertaining the probable cause of our being 
thus baffled ; and to ascertain if a more direct route 
could not be found further to the eastward than that 
by the land-ice of the bay ; for it was now clear that 
it was only possible to continue our journey north- 
ward in one or the other of these directions. The 
labors of the day made it necessary, however, that I 
should procure some rest before attempting to climb 
the hill to such an elevation as w^ould enable me to 
obtain a clear view of the condition of the ice to the 
opposite shore. 

After a most profound and refreshing sleep, inspired 
by a weariness which I had rarely before experienced, 
to an equal degree, I climbed the steep hill-side to the 
top of a ragged cliff, which I supposed to be about 
eight hundred feet above the level of the sea. 

The view which I had from this elevation furnished 
a solution of the cause of my progress being arrested 
on the previous day. 

The ice was everywhere in the same condition as 
in the mouth of the bay, across which I had endeav- 
ored to pass. A broad crack, starting from the mid- 
dle of the bay, stretched over the sea, and uniting 



YIEW FEOM THE CLIFF. 349 

with other cracks as it meandered to the eastward, it 
expanded as the delta of some mightj river discharg- 
ing into the ocean, and under a water-sky, Mdiich 
hmig upon the northern and eastern horizon, it was 
lost in the open sea. 

Standing against the dark sky at the north, there 
was seen in dim outline the white sloping summit of 
a noble headland, — the most northern known land 
upon the globe. I judged it to be in latitude 82° 30^, 
or four hundred and fifty miles from the North Pole, 
Nearer, another bold cape stood forth ; and nearer 
still the headland, for which I had been steering my 
course the day before, rose majestically from the sea, 
as if pushing up into the very skies a lofty mountain 
peak, upon which the winter had dropped its diadem 
of snows. There was no land visible except the coast 
upon which I stood. 

The sea beneath me was a mottled sheet of white 
and dark patches, these latter being either soft decay- 
ing ice or places where the ice had wholly disap- 
peared. These spots were heightened in intensity of 
shade and multiplied in size as they receded, until 
the belt of the water-sky blended them all together 
into one uniform color of dark blue. The old and solid 
floes (some a quarter of a mile, and others miles, 
across) and the massive ridges and wastes of hum- 
mocked ice which lay piled between them and 
around their margins, were the only parts of the sea 
which retained the whiteness and solidity of winter. 

I reserve to another chapter all discussion of the 
value of the observations which I made from this 
point. Suffice it here to say that all the evidences 
showed that I stood upon the shores of the Polar 
Basin, and that the broad ocean lay at my feet ; that 



350 THE JOURNEY ENDED. 

the land upon which I stood, culminating in the dis- 
tant cape before me, was but a point of land projecting 
far into it, like the Ceverro Vostochnoi Noss of the 
opposite coast of Siberia ; and that the little margin 
of ice which lined the shore was being steadily worn 
away ; and within a month, the whole sea would be 
as free from ice as I had seen the north water of 
Baffin Bay, — interrupted only by a moving pack, 
drifting to and fro at the will of the winds and cur- 
rents. 

To proceed further north was, of course, impossible. 
The crack which I have mentioned would, of itself, 
have prevented us from making the opposite land, 
and the ice outside the bay was even more decayed 
than inside. Several open patches were observed 
near the shore, and in one of these there was seen a 
flock of Dovekie. At several points during our march 
up Kennedy Channel I had observed their breeding- 
places, but I was not a little surprised to see the birds 
at this locality so early in the season. Several bur- 
gomaster-gulls flew over head, making their way 
northward, seeking the open water for their feeding 
grounds and summer haunts. Around these haunts 
of the birds there is never ice after the early days of 
June. 

And now my journey was ended, and I had nothing 
to do but make my way back to Port Foulke. The 
advancing season, the rapidity with which the thaw 
was taking place, the certainty that the open water 
was eating into Smith Sound as Well through Baffin 
Bay from the south, as through Kennedy Channel 
from the north, thus endangering my return across 
to the Greenland shore, warned me that I had lin- 
gered long enough. 



PLANTING THE FLAG. 351 

It now only remained for us to plant our flag in 
token of our discovery, and to deposit a record in 
proof of our presence. The flags ^ were tied to the 
whip-lash, and suspended between two tall rocks, and 
while we were building a cairn, they were allowed to 
flutter in the breeze • then, tearing a leaf from my 
note-book, I wrote on it as follows : — 

" This point, the most northern land that has ever been reached, 
was visited by the undersigned, May 18th, 19th, 1861, accompanied 
by George F. Knorr, traveling with a dog-sledge. We arrived here 
after a toilsome march of forty-six days from my winter harbor, 
near Cape Alexander, at the mouth of Smith Sound. My observa- 
tions place us in latitude 81° 35', longitude 70° 30', W. Our fur- 
ther progress was stopped by rotten ice and cracks. Kennedy 
Channel appears to expand into the Polar Basin ; and, satisfied that 
it is navigable at least during the months of July, August, and Sep- 
tember, I go hence to my winter harbor, to make another trial to 
get through Smith Sound with my vessel, after the ice breaks up 
this summer. 

"L L Hayes. 

''May I'dth, 1861." 

This record being carefully secured in a small glass 
vial, which I brought for the purpose, it was deposited 
beneath the cairn ; and then our faces were turned 
homewards. But I quit the place with reluctance. 

1 These were a small United States flag (boat's ensign), -which had 
been carried in the South Sea Expedition of Captain Wilkes, U. S. N., 
and afterwards in the Arctic Expeditions of Lieut. Comg. DeHaven and 
Dr. Kane ; a little United States flag which had been committed to Mr. 
Sonntag by the ladies of the Albany Academy ; two diminutive Masonic 
flags intrusted to me, — one by the Kane Lodge of I^ew York, the other 
by the Columbia Lodge of Boston; and our Expedition signal-flag, bear- 
ing the Expedition emblem, the Pole Star — a crimson star, on a white 
field — also a gift from fair hands. Being under the obligation of a sacred 
promise to luifurl all of these flags at the most northern point attained, it 
was my pleasing duty to carry them with me — • a duty rendered none the 
less pleasing by the circumstance that, together, they did not weigh three 
pounds. 



352 PLANTING THE FLAG. 

It possessed a fascination for me, and it was with no 
ordinary sensations that I contemplated my situation, 
with one soUtary companion, in that hitherto untrod- 
den desert ; while my nearness to the earth's axis, the 
consciousness of standing upon land far beyond the 
limits of previous observation, the reflections which 
crossed my mind respecting the vast ocean which lay 
spread out before me, the thought that these ice- 
girdled waters might lash the shores of distant islands 
where dwell human beings of an unknown race, were 
circumstances calculated to invest the very air with 
mystery, to deepen the curiosity, and to strengthen 
the resolution to persevere in my determination to 
sail upon this sea and to explore its furthest limits ; 
and as I recalled the struggles which had been made 
to reach this sea, — through the ice and across the 
ice, — by generations of bra.ve men, it seemed as if 
the spirits of these Old Worthies came to encourage 
me, as their experience had already guided me ; and 
I felt that 1 had within my grasp " the great and 
notable thing " which had inspired the zeal of sturdy 
FrobVisher, and that I had achieved the hope of 
matchless Parry. 




CHAPTER XXXII, 

THE OPEN POLAR SEA.— WIDTH OF THE POLAR BASIN. — BOUNDARIES OF THE 
POLAR BASIN. — POLAR CURRENTS. — POLAR ICE. — THE ICE-BELT. — ARCTIC 
NAVIGATION AND DISCOVERY. — THE RUSSIAN SLEDGE EXPLORATIONS. — 
WRANGEL'S OPEN SEA. — PARRY'S BOAT EXPEDITION. -DR. KANE'S DISCOV- 
ERIES. — EXPANSION OF SMITH SOUND. — GENERAL CONCLUSIONS DRAWN 
FROM MY OWN DISCOVERIES AND THOSE OF MY PREDECESSORS. 

Let us pause here a few moments, in order that we 
may take a brief survey of the Polar Basin and arrive 
at a correct understanding of what is meant by the 
term, " Open Polar Sea," so often used. 

By referring to the circumpolar map, the reader 
will be able to form a more accurate judgment than 
he could from the most elaborate description. He 
will observe that about the North Pole of the earth 
there is an extensive sea, or, more properly, ocean, 
with an average diameter of more than two thousand 
miles. He will observe that this sea is almost com- 
pletely surrounded by land, and that its shores are, 
for the most part, well defined, — the north coasts of 
Greenland and Grinnell Land, which project farthest 
into it, being alone undetermined. He will note that 
these shores occupy, to a certain extent, a uniform 
distance from the Pole, and are everywhere within 
the region of perpetual frost. He will remember that 
they are inhabited everywhere by people of the same 
race, to whom the soil yields no subsistence, who live 
exclusively by hunting and fishing, and confine their 
dwelling-places either to the coast or to the banks of 

23 



c/ 



354 BOUND AEIES OF THE POLAR BASIN. 

the rivers which flow northward. He will observe 
that the long line of coast which gives lodgment to 
these Arctic nomads is interrupted in three principal 
places ; and that through these the waters of the 
Polar Sea mingle with the waters of the Atlantic 
and Pacific Oceans, — these breaks being Baffin Bay, 
Behring Strait, and the broader opening between 
Greenland and Nova Zembla; and if he traces the 
currents on the map and follows the Gulf Stream as 
it flows northward, pouring the warm waters of the 
Tropic Zone through the broad gateway east of Spitz- 
bergen and forcing out a return current of cold waters 
to the west of Spitzbergen and through Davis Strait, 
he will very readily comprehend why in this incessant 
displacement of the waters of the Pole by the waters 
of the Equator the great body of the former is never 
chilled to within several degrees of the freezing-point ; 
and since it is probably as deep, as it is almost as 
broad, as the Atlantic between Europe and America, 
he will be prepared to understand that this vast 
body of water tempers the whole region with a 
warmth above that which is otherwise natural to it ; 
and that the Almighty hand, in the all-wise dispensa- 
tion of His power, has thus placed a bar to its conge- 
lation ; and he will read in this another symbol of 
Nature's great law of circulation, which, giving water 
to the parched earth and moisture to the air, moderates 
as well the temperature of the zones • — cooling the 
Tropic with a current of water from the Frigid, and 
warming the Frigid with a current from the Tropic.-^ 

1 The temperature of the air at the North Pole has furnished a fniitful 
theme of speculation, both in connection with the influence of the sea and 
of the sun. 1 have before me a highly instructive paper on the chmate of 
the North Pole, read before the Royal Geographical Society of London, 



POLAR CURRENTS. 355 

Bearing these facts in mind, the reader will per- 
ceive that it is the surface-water only which ever 
reaches so low a temperature that it is changed to 
ice ; and he will also perceive that when the wind 
moves the surface-water, the particles which have be- 
come chilled by contact with the air mingle in the 
rolhng waves with the warm waters beneath, and 
hence that ice can only form in sheltered places or 
where the water of some bay is so shoal and the cur- 
rent so slack that it becomes chilled to the very bot- 
tom, or where the air over the sea is uniformly calm. 
He will remember, however, that the winds blow as 
fiercely over the Polar Sea as in any other quarter of 
the world ; and he will, therefore, have no difficulty 
in comprehending that the Polar ice covers but a 
small part of the Polar water; and that it exists only 
wdiere it is nursed and protected by the land. It 
clings to the coasts of Siberia, and springing thence 
across Behring Strait to America, it hugs the Ameri- 
can shore, fills the narrow channels which drain the 

April 10th, 1865, by W. E. Hickson, Esq., from which I extract the fol- 
lowing : — 

" It had always been supposed that the immediate areas of the Poles 
must be the coldest regions of the globe, because the farthest points from 
the equator. Hence the argument that the higher the latitude the 
greater must be the difficulties and dangers of navigation. Quite an op- 
posite opinion, however, had begun to prevail among meteorologists on 
the publication, in 1817, of the Isothermal system of Alexander Von 
Humboldt, which showed that distance from the equator is no rule for 
cold, as the equator is not a parallel of maximum heat. The line of max- 
imum heat crosses the Greenwich meridian, in Africa, fifteen degrees 
north of the equator, and rises, to the eastward, five degrees higher, run- 
ning along the southern edge of the Desert of Sahara. In 1821, Sir 
David Brewster pointed out, in a paper on the mean temperature of the 
globe, the probability of the thermometer being found to range ten degrees 
higher at the Pole than in some other parts of the Arctic Circle. No new 
facts have since been discovered to invalidate this conclusion — many, on 
the contrary, liave come to light tending to confirm it." 



356 THE ICE-BELT. 

Polar waters into Baffin Bay through the Parry Ar- 
chipelago, crosses thence to Greenland, from Green- 
land to Spitzbergen, and from Spitzbergen to Nova 
Zerabla, — thus investing the Pole in an uninter- 
rupted land-clinging belt of ice, more or less broken 
as well in winter as in summer, and the fragments 
ever moving to and fro, though never widely separat- 
ing, forming a barrier against which all the arts and 
energies of man have not hitherto prevailed. 

If the reader would further pursue the inquiry, let 
him place one leg of a pair of dividers on the map 
near the North Pole (say in latitude 86°, longitude 
160° W.), and inscribe a circle two thousand miles in 
diameter, and he will have touched the margin of the 
land and the mean line of the ice-belt throughout its 
wide circuit, and have covered an area of more than 
three millions of square miles. 

Although this ice-belt has n.ot been broken through, 
it has been penetrated in many places, and its south- 
ern margin has been followed, partly along the waters 
formed near the land by the discharging rivers of the 
Arctic w^ater-sheds of Asia and America, and partly 
by working through the ice which is always more or 
less loosened by the summer. It was in this manner 
that various navigators have attempted the north- 
west passage ; and it was after following the coast 
line from Behring Strait to Banks Land, and then 
pushing through the broken ice that Sir Robert Mc- 
Clure finally succeeded in effecting this long-sought- 
for passage — not, however, by carrying his ship com- 
pletely through, but by traveling over the winter ice 
three hundred miles to Wellington Channel, whence 
be returned home through Baffin Bay in a shijD that 
had come from the eastward. And it was in this 



ICE NAVIGATION. 357 

same manner that Captain Collinson, passing from 
west to east, reached almost to the spot where per- 
ished FrankUn, who had entered the ice from the op- 
posite direction. And it is thus, also, that the Rus- 
sians have explored the coasts of Siberia, meeting 
but two insurmountable obstacles to the navigation 
from the Atlantic to the Pacific side, namely. Cape 
Jakan, against which the ice is always jammed, and 
which Behring tried in vain to pass, and Cape Ce- 
verro Yostochnoi, which the gallant young Lieuten- 
ant Prondtschikoff made such heroic efforts to sur- 
mount. And it was by the same method of naviga- 
tion that the Amsterdam pilot, earnest old William 
Barentz, strove, in 1598, to find by the northeast a 
passage to Cathay. 

The efforts to break through the belt, with the ex- 
pectation of finding clear water about the Pole, have 
been very numerous, and they have been made 
through every opening from the southern waters to 
the Polar Sea. To follow the history of those vari- 
ous attempts would not fall within my present pur- 
pose. It is but a long record of defeat, so far as con- 
cerned the single object of getting to the Pole. Cook, 
and all who have come after him, have failed to find 
the ice sufficiently open to admit of navigation north- 
ward from Behring Strait, as Hudson and his follow- 
ers have through the Spitzbergen Sea ; and all the 
efforts through Baffin Bay have been equally futile. 
The most persevering attempts to break through the 
ice-belt have been made to the west of Spitzbergen, 
and in this quarter ships have approached nearer to 
the Pole than in any other. The highest well- 
authenticated position achieved by any navigator 
was that of Scorsby, who reached latitude 81° 30/ 



358 WRANGEL'S OPEN SEA. 

although it is claimed that Hudson had gone still 
further; and if the stories which Daines Barrington 
picked up from the fishermen of Amsterdam and HuU 
are to be relied on, then the old Dutch and English 
voyagers have gone even beyond this, seeking new 
fishing-grounds and finding everywhere an open sea. 
There is, however, as before observed, no well-authen- 
ticated record of any ship having attained a higher 
latitude than that of Scorsby. 

Failing to get through the ice, explorers have next 
tried to cross it with sledges. In this the Russians 
have done most. Many enterprising officers of the 
Russian service, using the dog-sledges . of the native 
tribes inhabiting the Siberian coast, have, in the early 
spring, boldly struck out upon the Polar Sea. Most 
conspicuous among them was Admiral Wrangel, then 
a young lieutenant of the Russian Navy, whose ex- 
plorations, continued through several years, showed 
that, at all seasons of the year, the same condition of 
the sea existed to the northward. The travelers were 
invariably arrested by open water ; and the existence 
of a Polynia or open sea above the New Siberian Isl- 
ands, became a fact as well established as that the 
rivers flow downward to the sea. 

Sir Edward Parry tried the same method above 
Spitzbergen, using, however, men instead of dogs for 
draft, and carrying boats for safety in the event of 
the ice breaking up. Parry traveled northward until 
the ice, becoming loosened by the advancing season, 
carried him south faster than he was travelmg 
north ; and after a while it broke up under him, and 
set him adrift in the o|)en sea. 

Next came Caj)tain Inglefield's attempt to get into 
this circumpolar water through Smith Sound; and 



KANE'S OPEN SEA. 359 

then Dr. Kane's. The latter's vessel could not be 
forced further into the ice than Van Rensselaer Har- 
bor ; and, like the Russians, he continued the work 
with sledges. After many embarrassments and fail- 
ures in his attempts to surmount the difficulties pre- 
sented by hummocked ice of the Sound, one of his 
parties succeeded finally in reaching the predicted 
open water ; and, to quote Dr. Kane's words, " from 
an elevation of five hundred and eighty feet, this water 
was still without a limit, moved by a heavy swell, free 
of ice, and dashing in surf against a rock-bound 
shore." This shore was the shore of the land which 
he named Washington Land. 

Next, after Dr. Kane's, came my own undertaking ; 
and the last chapter leaves me with my sledge upon 
the shores of that same sea which Dr. Kane describes, 
about one hundred miles to the north and west of the 
point from which one of his parties looked out upon 
the iceless waters. My own opinion of what I saw 
and of the condition of this sea, which Wrangel found 
open on the opposite side from where I stood, and 
which Kane's party had found open to my right, and 
which Parry's journey showed to be open above 
Spitzbergen, may be inferred from what I have al- 
ready briefly stated, and may be more briefly con- 
cluded. 

The boundaries of the Polar Basin are sufficiently 
well defined to enable us to form a rational estimate 
of the unknown coast-lines of Greenland and Grin- 
nell Land, — the only parts of the extensive circuit 
remaining unexplored. " The trend of the northern 
coast-line of Greenland is approximately defined by 
the reasonable analogies of physical geography ; and 
the same process of reasoning forbids the conclusion 



360 EXPANSION OF SMITH SOUND. 

that Grinnell Land extends beyond the limit of my 
explorations. I hold, as Inglefield did before me, that 
Smith Sound expands into the Polar Basin. Beyond 
the narrow passage between Cape Alexander and 
Cape Isabella, the water widens steadily up to Cape 
Frazer, where it expands abruptly. On the Green- 
land side the coast trends regularly to the eastward, 
until it reaches Cape Agassiz, where it dips under 
the glacier and is lost to observation. That cape 
is composed of primitive rock, and is the end of a 
mountain spur. This same rock is visible at many 
places along the coast, but is mostly covered with the 
deposit of sandstone and greenstone, which forms the 
tall cliffs of the coast-line, until it crops out about 
thirty miles in the interior into a mountain chain, 
which, (in company with Mr. Wilson), I crossed, in 
1853, to find the me)^ de glace hemmed in behind it. 
Further to the north the mer de glace has poured 
down into the Polar Sea, and pushing its way onward 
through the water, it has at length reached Washing- 
ton Land, and swelled southward into Smith Sound. 
That the face of Humboldt Glacier trends more to 
the eastward than is exhibited on Dr. Kane's chart, I 
have shown ; and that Washington Land will be 
found to lie much farther in the same direction, I 
have sufficient grounds for believing. According to 
the report of Morton, it is to be inferred that this 
island is but a continuation of the same granitic ridge 
which breaks off abruptly at Cape Agassiz, and ap- 
pears again above the sea at Cape Forbes, in a line 
conformable with the Greenland range. It is prob- 
able then that at some remote period this Washing- 
ton Land stood in the expansion of Smith Sound, 
washed by water on every side, — that lying to the 



THE OPEN POLAR SEA. 361 

eastward being now supplanted by the great glacier 
of Humboldt ; that lying to the westward now bear- 
ing the name of Kennedy Channel. 

With the warm flood of the Gulf Stream pouring 
northward, and keeping the waters of the Polar Sea 
at a temperature above the freezing point, while the 
winds, blowing as constantly under the Arctic as un- 
der the Tropic sky, and the ceaseless currents of the 
sea and the tide-flow of the surface, keep the waters 
ever in movement, it is not possible, as I have be- 
fore observed, that even any considerable portion of 
this extensive sea can be frozen over. At no point 
within the Arctic Circle has there been found an ice- 
belt extending, either in winter or in summer, more 
thaii from fifty to a hundred miles from land. And 
even in the narrow channels separating the islands 
of the Parry Archipelago, in Baffin Bay, in the North 
Water, and the mouth of Smith Sound, — everywhere, 
indeed, within the broad area of the Frigid Zone, the 
waters will not freeze excejDt when sheltered by the 
land, or when an ice-pack, accumulated by a long 
continuance of winds from one quarter, affords the 
same protection. That the sea does not close except 
when at rest, I had abundant reason to know during 
the late winter ; for at all times, as this narrative fre- 
quently records, even when the temperature of the 
air was below the freezing point of mercury, I could 
hear from the deck of the schooner the roar of the 
beatino; waves. 

It would be needless for me to detain the reader 
with the conclusions to be drawn from the condition 
of the sea as observed by me at the point from which 
the last chapter left us returning, as the facts speak 
for themselves. It will not, however, be out of place 



362 THE OPEN WATER. 

to observe that no one whose eye has ever rested 
upon the Arctic ice or witnessed the changes of the 
Arctic seasons, could fail to realize that in a very short 
time, as the summer advanced, the open water w^ould 
steadily eat its way southward, through Kennedy 
Channel, into Smith Sound. 




CHAPTER XXXIII. 

DN BOARD THE SCHOONER. — REVIEV7 OF THE JOURNEY. — THE RETURN DOWN 
KENNEDY CHANNEL. —A SEVERE MARCH IN A SNOW-STORM. — ROTTEN ICE. 
— EFFECTS OF A GALE. — RETURNING THROUGH THE HUMMOCKS. — THE 
DOGS BREAlvING DOWN. — ADRIFT ON A FLOE AT CAIRN POINT. — THE 
OPEN WATER COMPELS US TO TAKE TO THE LAND. — REACHING THE 
SCHOONER. — PROJECTING A CHART. — THE NEW SOUND. — MY NORTHERN 
DISCOVERIES. 

Port Foulke, June 3d. 

Back again on board the schooner after two months' 
toihng and journeying on the ice. 

Since I left her deck on the 3d of April, I have 
traveled not less than 1300 miles, and not less than 
1600 since first setting out in March. I am some- 
what battered and weather-beaten, but a clay or so of 
rest and civilized comfort, the luxury of a wash and a 
bed, and of a table covered with clean crockery filled 
with the best of things that my old Swedish cook can 
turn out, are wondrously rejuvenating, — potent as 
the touch of Hebe to the war-worn lolas. 

Affairs seem to have gone on well at the schooner. 
Eadcliffe has given me his report, and it is satisfac- 
tory. McCormick has presented a full history of 
events since leaving me among the hummocks ; but 
I refrain now from recording them until I have set 
down some of the leading incidents of my journey, 
while they are yet fresh in my mind. Besides, Mc- 
Cormick tells me that he is unable to repair the 
schooner that she may be ice-worthy ; and, as I am 
unwilUng to accept this conclusion without a further 



364 REVIEW or the journey. 

examination than I have yet been able to make, I 
postpone any further allusion to the matter. To con- 
fess the truth, the last days of the homeward journey 
used us all wp pretty thoroughly ; and, although the 
confined atmosphere of the cabin is oppressive to me 
after so long an exposure in the open air, yet the 
doctor (which is my ddiopelganger^ warns me to keep 
to this lounge for a day or so. I am not, however, 
forbidden to write. 

I have returned well satisfied that Kennedy Chan- 
nel is navigable; and it remains only to be proven 
whether Smith Sound will open sufficiently to permit 
a passage through. With steam, I should have no 
doubt whatever of my ability to force it ; with sails, 
of course, the effort is filled with greater uncertainty ; 
and yet, I think, the chances are with me. 

I am fully convinced that a route to the Pole, — a 
route, certainly, not wholly unobstructed by ice, yet 
free enough at least for steam navigation, is open 
every summer from Cape Frazer ; and if I can pull 
through to that point, then I shall have accomplished 
the full measure of my desires. In truth, this is the 
real difficulty. My views of the whole matter will b^ 
set down here on the spot as opportunity offers from 
day to day. To-morrow, I hope to be sufficiently re- 
covered from the fatigues of the journey to begin the 
discussion of my materials, and the projection of my 
chart. 

And now, with a heart filled with thankfulness to 
that Great Being who suffereth not even a sparrow to 
fall to the ground without His notice. I have here the 
happiness to record that in these two months of peril- 
ous traveling, He has spared me and every member 
of my party from serious accident or permanent in- 



THE RETUEK. 365 

June 4th. 

I have worked up some of my sights, and rudely 
sketched m the coast-Une of my track-chart. It 
makes a respectable show for our summer's sledging. 
Since the middle of March, I have covered the en- 
tire ground gone over by Dr. Kane's various parties, 
except the coast of Washington Land, and have ex- 
tended the former surveys considerably to the north 
and west. But the important additions which I have 
been enabled to make to the geographical knowledge 
of the region I regard as of secondary interest to the 
circumstance that my journey has shown the practica- 
bility of this route into the Polar Basin. 

My return southv/ard from the shores of the Polar 
Sea is not recorded in my field-diary. There is no 
record after we had turned our faces homeward. 
That water-soaked and generally dilapidated-looking 
book, which now lies open on the table before me, 
breaks off thus : — 

" Halted in the lee of a huge ice-cliff, seeking shel- 
ter from a fierce storm that set upon us soon after 
we started south. We have made about ten miles, 
and have from forty to fifty yet to make before we 
reach Jensen. We have given the dogs the last of 
our food. It is snowing and blowing dreadfully." 

The storm continued with unabated violence 
through the next day ; and as the wind shrieked 
along the tall cliffs, carrying with it the drifting 
snow, I thought that I had scarcely ever seen or 
heard any thing more dismal. Unable to bear the 
chilliness of our imperfect shelter, (we had no means 
of making .a snow-hut,) we pushed on, wading 
through deep drifts in addition to climbing the 
rocks and masses of ice, which, in going north, had 



^ 



366 LONG AND WEARY MARCH. 

everywhere more or less embarrassed our progress. 
The snow-drifts were often so deep that the dogs had 
much trouble in wading through them, and it was 
all that they could do to drag the now quite empty 
sledge. After a time they became so much exhausted 
that it was with the utmost difficulty that we could 
force them forward. The poor beasts fell in their 
tracks the moment the whip ceased to be applied. I 
had never before seen them so much broken. To 
halt was of little use, as rest, without food, would 
do harm rather than good ; and as we had no shel- 
ter, and in the item of food were as badly off as the 
dogs, there was nothing for us to do but to hold on 
and get through to Jensen's camp, or perish in the 
storm. Fortunately, the wind w^as at our backs. 

We kept on in our wmding course through the 
pelting snow, and reached, finally, the north side of 
the bay above Jensen's camp ; and then the hardest 
part of the journey was to come. The tramp across 
that bay comes back to me now as the vague recol- 
lection of some ugly dream. I scarcely remember 
how we got through it. I recall only an endless 
pounding of the dogs, who wanted to lie down with 
every step, the ceaseless wading, the endless crunch 
of the wearied feet breaking through the old snow- 
crust, the laborious climbing over hummocks, the 
pushing and lifting of the sledge, — and, through the 
blinding snow, I remember, at length, catching sight 
of the land and of hearing the cry of Jensen's dogs ; 
and then of crawling up the ice-foot to his snow-hut. 
Through all these last hours, we were aware of a de- 
sire to halt and sleep • and it is fortunate for us that 
we did not lose consciousness of its dangers. 

Without waiting to be fed, the dogs tumbled over 



A LAST LOOK. 367 

on the snow the moment they were left to themselves ; 
and we, dragging ourselves inside the hut which Mc- 
Donald had made to shelter his sick companion, fell 
into a dead, dead sleep. Jensen noted the time. We 
had been twenty-two hours on the way, since leaving 
our shelter beneath the ice-cliff. 

When we awoke, the storm had died away, and the 
sun was shining brightly. McDonald had looked 
after the dogs, and had ready for us a hot pot of 
coffee and an abundant breakfast, which thirty-four 
hours' fasting had prepared us fully to appreciate. 
Refreshed by this, I climbed the hill-side for a last 
look at the sea which we were leaving. The gale 
had told somewhat upon it. The dark water-sky to 
the northeast had followed us down the coast, the 
wind had acted upon the open places in the ice, and 
the little waves had eaten away their margins, and 
magnified them greatly, while many of the old floes 
had finally yielded to the immense pressure of the 
wind, and had moved in their winter moorings, tear- 
ing up the rotten ice about them. Several cracks 
had opened almost to the shore, and the " hinge " of 
the ice-foot had mainly tumbled away. 

Jensen was better, but still moved with much diffi- 
culty and pain. By sitting on the sledge, however, 
he thought that he should be able to drive his dogs ; 
so I gave Knorr our entire cargo. This cargo was 
now reduced to small dimensions, and consisted of 
nothing but our buffalo-skins, rifle, my instruments, 
and a few geological specimens. Our food was con- 
sumed to the last pound, and hence we must go sup- 
perless if we did not reach our next cache, where, if 
the bears should not have discovered it, we had one 
meal buried under a heap of stones. 



368 THE SHOEE-ICE. 

June 5th. 

T resume the narrative. 

The march to the cache was a very tedious one, 
but we took it leisurely, and got through with it in 
sixteen hours, to find our food unmolested. The re- 
peated halts to rest the dogs gave me abundant leis- 
ure to search amono; the limestone cliffs for further 
fossil remains, and my exertions were rewarded with 
a valuable collection. It is, perhaps, too much to say 
that they are fossils of the Silurian era, from a hasty 
examination ; but I think it more than probable. 

I had also opportunity to measure some of the 
masses of ice which had been forced upon the shore. 
In many places these masses were crowded together, 
forming an almost impassable barrier. In other 
places the ice-foot had been torn through, and in one 
spot a table sixty feet in thickness and forty yards 
across had been crowded on the sloping shore, push- 
ing up the loose, rocky debris which lay at the base of 
the cliffs ; and when the pack that had caused the 
disturbance had drifted away, this fragment was left 
with its lower edge above the tide. Around it were 
piled other masses ; and, in order to pass it, we were 
obliged to climb far up the hill-side. 

Our next day's journey was even more difficult, as 
we became entangled among deep snow-drifts below 
Cape Frazer, and, on account of the rotten condi- 
tion of the ice lining the shore, we could not take to 
the ice-fields. We tried twice, and came near paying 
dearly for the experiment. One of the teams got in 
bodily, and was extricated mth difficulty ; while, on 
the other occasion, I, acting in my usual capacity of 
pilot, saved myself from a cold bath with my ice-pole, 
which, plunging through the rotten ice and disappear- 



SIGHTING GREENLAND. 369 

ing out of sight, gave me timely warning ; so we put 
back again to the more secure land-ice. 

In the bay below Cape Napoleon we found, on the 
following day, secure footing, and reached Cape 
Hawks without difficulty, in two more marches. 
Thence we proceeded to follow our outward track 
through the hummocks. The sledges being now light, 
and Jensen havino- so far imoroved as to be able to 
walk, we experienced less embarrassment than on our 
outward journey ; but the dogs were now in a very 
different condition, and lightness of load leveled not 
the hummocks and made not the steep places smooth, 
nor the ice less sharp, nor the snow-crusts less treach- 
erous. The task was wearisome and exhausting to 
the last degree, — a hard struggle, destructive to the 
energies of men and dogs alike. 

Some snow had fallen, but, fortunately, the wind 
had drifted it from our tracks in many places, and we 
found our way to the small provision caches which we 
had left going north, and, luckily, they had all escaped 
the observation of the bears except one ; but, having 
made a good march on the first day from Cape Hawks, 
we picked up the first cache we came to, and thus 
saved a day's food, — a piece of good fortune which 
we had not counted upon. 

The coast of Greenland rose at length into view, 
and, steadily rising day by day, we came within sight 
of Cairn Point ; but, for some time previous, we were 
warned of the rapid advance of the season by the 
dark water-sky which lay before us, showing that the 
open water extended up to the Point, for which we 
were shaping our course. On the north side of it, 
however, the ice appeared to be solid. Thinking that 
we could make the land in that direction, we pushed 

24 



370 ADRIFT OK AN ICE-EAFT. 

on, picking our way over the rough and thicker ice, 
and avoiding the younger ice, which was everywhere 
porous, and occasionally worn completely away. At 
length, when about a mile from land, we came upon a 
crack, which had opened not more than a foot. Cross- 
ing this, we held in directly for the Point, but, unfor- 
tunately, the wind was blowing heavily down the 
Sound ; and, as we neared the land, we found that the 
water had eaten in between the ice and the shore, 
obliging us to keep up the coast. To our horror and 
dismay, we now discovered that the crack which we 
had crossed had opened at least twenty yards, and we 
were adrift upon an ice-raft in an open sea, without 
power to help ourselves. 

The movement of the ice was slow. After waiting 
a short time, irresolute as to what course we should 
pursue, it was observed that the outer end of the 
loosened floe was moving, while the inner edge was 
almost stationary, owing to a small iceberg, which, 
being aground and fastened to the floe itself, formed 
a pivot about which we were revolving. If this berg 
held, it was evident that the floe would strike the 
land, and we approached nearer to its margin. 

The event which we had so eagerly desired now 
happened; and, dashing forward when the collision 
came, we managed to get upon the land-ice. The 
tide, being at full flood, facilitated the undertaking. 
The contact did not long continue. The rotten edge 
of the floe broke loose from the little berg which 
had given us this most fortunate assistance, and we 
were not sorry to see the ice-raft drifting away with- 
out us. 

By this time, the dogs had become more broken. 
They had borne up admirably during the journey 



TAKING TO THE LAND. 371 

north, but the scant rations which we had left behind 
for the return journey were found to be insufficient 
to support their strength, especially as they had, for 
some time, Jensen's additional weight to carry. One 
of them gave out completely, and died in a fit, during 
the first day's journey in the hummocks ; two others 
followed soon afterward; while another, having be- 
come unable either to pull or follow, was shot. Much 
to my surprise, as soon as the bullet struck the ani- 
mal, wounding him but slightly and causing him to 
set up a terrible cry, his companions in the team flew 
upon him and tore him to pieces in an instant, and 
those who were lucky enough to get a fragment of 
him were tearino; the flesh from his bones almost be- 
fore the echo of his last howl had died away in the 
solitude. 

The sea below Cairn Point was filled with loose ice, 
evidently broken adrift by a very recent gale. By 
keeping to the land-ice we managed to work our way 
down the coast, and got around Cape Hatherton ; but, 
below this, the ice-foot, too, was gone, thus obliging 
us to take to the land. To cross the mountains with 
our sledges was, of course, impracticable ; so we were 
compelled to abandon them until such time as we 
could come for them in a boat. 

The land journey was very tedious and tiresome, 
exhausted and foot-sore as we were already; but 
we managed better than the dogs. Most of them 
sneaked away as soon as loosened from the sledges, 
and would not follow us ; and when sought for could 
not be found. I did not feel apprehensive for 
them, as I supposed they merely needed rest, and 
would follow our tracks to the vessel. Three of 
them only stuck to us. One is the noble old beast, 



372 A NEW SOUND. 

Oosisoak ; another is his brave queen, Arkadik ; and 
the third Nenook, the finest of Kahitunah's dogs. 
Three others have come in since ; but four are yet 
missing. I have sent out to seek them, without suc- 
cess. I much fear that they will not have strength to 
drag themselves on board. 

And so my journey ended. If it has had its disap- 
pointments, it has had, too, its triumphs and successes. 
It was unfortunate that I did not get the boat over 
the Sound, together with a good supply of provisions ; 
but, failing in this, the failure of the foot-party was of 
little moment. No amount of assistance could, with 
sledges alone, have helped me further north ; or, if I 
had got further, could have ever got me back again. 

June 8tla. 

I have finished the plotting of my chart, and I find, 
as I have already had occasion to observe, that the 
coast-line from Cape Sabine to Cape Frazer differs 
somewhat from that shown from my journey in 1854, 
which was made under the embarrassments of partial 
snow-blindness and a vapory atmosphere. The most 
important feature in connection with this old survey 
is the fict that the Sound opening westward from 
Smith Sound, above Cape Sabine, formerly escaped 
my observation. The existence of this Sound was 
abundantly confirmed during my retiu^n journey ; 
and my materials, now reduced and put on paper, 
give me the correct conformation of the coast. The 
Sound is somewhat wider than Smith Sound, narrow- 
ing, however, steadily, from a broad entrance, some- 
thing like Whale Sound. Whether it continues to 
the westward, parallel with Jones and Lancaster 
Sounds, separating the Eilesmere Land, of Ingle- 



NOMENCLATURE. 373 

field, from the Grinnell Land of my former explora- 
tion, of course, remains to be proven ; but, that such 
is the fact, I have no doubt. 

I give to this Sound the name of my vessel. The 
first conspicuous Cape which appears on its south side 
I name Cape Seward, and the most remote point of 
visible land lying beyond it, Cape Viele. The three 
last conspicuous Capes on the north side I name as 
follows : the most westerly, Cape Baker ; that next to 
it. Cape Sawyer; and the third. Cape Stetson. The 
apparently deep indentations of the coast which lie 
between these bold headlands are designated as Joy 
Bay and Peabody Bay. The two large islands lying 
in the mouth of the Sound I have distino-uished as 
Bache Island and Henry Island. Eastward of Cape 
Stetson I have applied such names as seemed to me 
appropriate to distinguish the prominent landmarks ; 
but it is unnecessary to mention them here, as the 
map tells its own story. In those parts of the coast 
which were plotted by Dr. Kane from my old survey, 
I have endeavored to adhere, as far as practicable, to 
his nomenclature ; and such parts of the shores of 
Kennedy Channel as were seen by Morton alone, I 
have, for the most part, simply applied Dr. Kane's 
names, without inquiring very particularly as to their 
corresponding jolaces on the two maps. I think this 
course, in the main, preferable to that somewhat con- 
fusing system which deprived Captain Ingiefield of 
the benefits of his survey of Smith Sound ; and I 
have, besides, the additional satisfaction of joining Dr. 
Kane in paying respect to many distinguished men 
of science, dead and living, and among them to none 
that contribute more gratification than that of M. de 
la Roquette, Vice-President of the Geographical Soci- 



374 NOMEN^CLATURE. 

etj of Paris ; and to Sir Eoderick Murchison, Presi- 
dent of the Koyal Geographical Society, London, and 
Dr. Norton Shaw, its Secretary, The coast-range, 
which forms such a conspicuous feature of Grinnell 
Land, I have followed Dr. Kane in designating as Vic- 
toria and Albert Mountains. 

The highest point attained by me I have called 
Cape Lieber ; a remarkable peak rising above it. 
Church's Monument ; and the Bay, which lies below 
it, is named in respectful remembrance of Lady Frank- 
lin. The conspicuous headland which I vainly at- 
tempted to reach, on the last day of my northward 
journey, I have named Cape Eugenie, thinking, in 
this manner, to express my high appreciation of the 
many acts of kindness to this expedition and to 
myself which I owe to French citizens, by remember- 
ing their Empress. Another prominent headland ap- 
pearing beyond it I designate as Cape Frederick VII., 
in honor of the King of Denmark, to whose subjects 
in Greenland I am indebted for so many serviceable 
attentions. And to the noble headland which, in faint 
outline, stood against the dark sky of the open sea 
. — the most northern known land ujDon the globe — 
I name Cape Union, in remembrance of a compact 
which has given prosperity to a peoj)le and founded 
a nation. In naming the bay wdiich lies between 
Cape LTnion and Cape Frederick VII., I am desirous 
of expressing my admiration of Admiral Wrangel, 
whose fame in connection with Arctic discovery is 
equaled by that of Sir Edward Parry only. And the 
lofty peak which overlooks the Polar Sea from behind 
Cape Eugenie, I name Parry Mountain. With this 
eminent explorer I will now divide the honors of ex- 
treme northern travel ; for, if he has carried the 



WASHINGTON LAND. 



375 



British flag .upon the sea nearer to the North Pole 
than any flag had been carried hitherto, I have 
planted the American flag further north upon the 
land then any flag has been planted before. The 
Bay between Capes Frederick VII. and Eugenie I 
name in honor of the distinguished geographer, Dr. 
Augustus Peterman ; and two large bays lower down 
the coast I call, respectively, after Carl Ritter and 
William Scorsby. 

In plotting my survey I have been a little puzzled 
with the Washington Land of Dr. Kane's map, and I 
am much tempted to switch it off twenty miles to the 
eastward ; for it is not possible that Kennedy Chan- 
nel can be less than fifty miles wide ; and, since I 
believe that Smith Sound expands into the Polar 
Basin, I must look upon Washington Land merely 
as an island in its centre, — Kennedy Channel lying 
between it and Grinnell Land on the west, and Hum- 
boldt Glacier filling up what was once a channel on 
the right. 




CHAPTER XXXIV. 

INSPECTION OF THE SCHOONER. —METII OB OF REPAIRING. —THE SERIOUS 
NATURE OF THE INJURY. — THE SCHOONER UNFIT FOR ANY FURTHER ICE- 
ENCOUNTERS.— EXAMINATION OF MY RESOURCES. — PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. 

The extracts from ray journal quoted in the pre- 
ceding chapter will have sufficed to give the reader 
an understanding of the results of my spring and 
summer sledging, and he will have perceived that they 
were regarded by me as having laid down a correct 
basis for future exploration. With the character of 
the Smith Sound ice I had become more familiar, and 
the accurate determination of the coast-lines enabled 
me more readily to calculate upon the influence of 
the summer drift ; while the rotten state of the ice in 
Kennedy Channel, even at so early a period of the 
season as May, and the existence of open water be- 
yond it, left no doubt upon my mind as to the practi- 
cability of getting a vessel through under ordinarily 
favorable conditions of the season. 

It will be perceived, therefore, that my future 
course was dependent upon the condition of the 
schooner. 

Although I have not made more than a passing al- 
lusion to the report of Mr. McCormick as to the dam- 
age sustained by the vessel, yet the reader will have 
gathered from my journal that it caused me much 
anxiety. I was too much prostrated after my return 



INSPECTION QF THE SCHOONER. 377 

from the journey to make, during the first few days, 
that thorough inspection which was needed to form a 
correct judgment. I was consoled, however, in some 
measure for the delay, by realizing the necessity of 
writing up the occurrences of my return journey, 
while they were fresh in my mind, and of defining on 
my chart the observations and geographical discov- 
eries w^hich I had made. 

These duties performed, and my strength sufficiently 
restored to justify me in leaving my cabin, I made a 
careful examination of the schooner and the means 
which had been adopted for repairing her. These 
means were altogether unexceptionable, and reflected 
much credit upon Mr.'McCormick and also upon the 
mate, Mr. Dodge, who had given him zealous assist- 
ance. 

McCormick had begun by digging the ice away 
from the bows down to the very keel, thus exposing 
all the forward part of the vessel as completely as if 
she lay in a dry-dock. The damage proved to have 
been even greater than we had anticipated, and it 
seemed remarkable that the forward planks and tim- 
bers had not opened to such a degree as to let the 
water throu2:h in torrents and sink us at once. The 
heads of the jDlanks which were let into the stem 
were all started ; the outer planking was loose and 
gaping open ; the iron sheathing of the cut-water and 
bows was torn and curled up as if it had been pine- 
shavings ; the stem-post was started, and the cut- 
water itself was completely torn away. 

By dint of much earnest exertion and the use of 
bolts and spikes, • — by replacing the torn cutr-water, 
careful calking, and renewal of the iron plates, — it 
seemed probable that the schooner would be sea- 



378 REPAIRING THE SCHOONER. 

worthy ; but I was forced to agree with my saiUng- 
master, that to strike the ice again was sure to sink 
her. 

The stern of the schooner had been dry-docked in 
the same manner as the bows ; and it was found that 
the severe wrench which she had got off Littleton 
Island had started the stern-post, upon which hangs 
the rudder ; and the rudder itself had been twisted 
off, — the pintles having been snapped asunder as if 
they had been made of pipe-clay. This accident to 
the rudder had been quite unavoidable, for we were 
so situated at the time of its occurrence that we could 
not avail ourselves of the facilities with which we 
were provided for unshipping it. 

McCormick had succeeded in getting in some stout 
screv/-bolts, and had managed, by an ingenious device, 
in hanging the rudder in such a manner that we 
could rely upon it to steer the schooner ; but it would 
not bear contact with the ice, or another wrench, and 
it could not be unshipped. The schooner's sides were 
much torn and abraided, but no material damage 
seemed to have been done which was not repaired 
with some additional spikes to secure the started 
planks, and a general calking to close the seams. 

I felt much disappointment at the turn of affairs. 
It seemed very probable that, in view of the crippled 
condition of the schooner, the project of getting into 
Kennedy Channel and of navigating the Polar Sea 
with her would have to be abandoned for the present, 
and that I had now no chance for another year but 
with boat and sledge. In this direction there was 
nothing to give encouragement. To transport a 
boat across such ice as that of Smith Sound was 
wholly impracticable, and I was now more poorly off 



MY EESOURCES. 379 

for dogs than before. Only six animals survived the 
late journey. Of these one died after a few days, 
apparently from sheer loss of vitality ; and one was 
returned to Kalutunah. 

Under these circumstances, it became a matter for 
serious reflection, whether it were not wiser to return 
home, refit, add — what was of much consequence — 
steam-power to my resources, and come back again 
immediately. Once at Cape Isabella with a proper 
vessel, I was fully persuaded that I could get into the 
northern water, and find a free route to the Pole, 
although it might be a hard struggle and somewhat 
hazardous. The chances of success would be greatly 
enhanced by steam. 

On the other hand, by remaining, I could not 
clearly see my way to accomplish any thing more 
of northern discovery than had been accomplished 
already ; and I was now called upon to consider 
whether my time and means could be employed to 
better advantage by promptly returning to refit than 
to postpone that inevitable result to another year. 
The responsibilities of the expedition had been wholly 
assumed by myself; and, from the time of leaving 
Boston until I should have completed the explora- 
tion which I had undertaken, I proposed to make 
the costs which, hitherto, various associations and in- 
dividuals had shared with me, now exclusively my 
own. I was, therefore, compelled to husband my 
resources and to act with caution and deliberation, 

I Avill not now detain the reader with the full de- 
tails of my plans for the future, arranged to meet this 
new exigency ; suffice it here to observe that, after 
taking Jensen and Kalutunah into my counsels, I 
was fully convinced that, by bringing out two ships, 



380 PLANS FOR THE FUTURE. 

■ — mooring one of them in Port Foulke, and pushing 
north with the other, — a practicable scheme of ex- 
ploration could be inaugurated, and that its success 
as well as safety would be secured. To this end, I 
proposed to myself to establish a permanent hunt- 
ing station or colony at Port Foulke; to collect 
about that place all of the Esquimaux;^ organize a 
vigorous hunt ; and make that hunt yield whatever 
was essential for sustaining indefinitely an extended 
system of exploration toward the North Pole. In 
the practicability of establishing such a station, 
Jensen, whose experience in the Greenland colonies 
was extensive, fully agreed with me, and he was 
much delighted with the plan, accepting without 
hesitation my proposal to make him superintendent 
of it; Kalutunah was overjoyed with the pros]3ect of 
bringing all of his people together ; and, in this as- 
pect alone, the scheme possessed much that was to 
me personally gratifying. My intercourse with this 
fast-dwindling race had caused me to feel a deep in- 
terest in them and to sympathize with their unhappy 
condition. The hardships of their life were telling 
upon them sadly, and, if not rescued by the hand of 
Christian philanthropy and benevolence, in less than 
half a century these poor wanderers of the icy sea 
will have all passed away. 

My plans for the future did not, however, assume 
definite shape at the period of which I write, nor 
could they until the schooner should be set free. 

1 The Esquimaux may, to a limited extent, be even made available in 
exploration, as has been shown by the experience of Mr. C. F Hall, who 
is now, with no other reliance than the natives, energetically pushing his 
discoveries westward from Repulse Bay. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

THE ARCTIC SPRING. — SNOW DISAPPEARING. —PLANTS SHOW SIGNS OF LIFE. 

— RETURN OF THE BIRDS. — CHANGE IN THE SEA. — REFITTING THE 
SCHOONER. — THE ESQUIMAUX. — VISIT TO KALUTUNAH. — KALUTUNAH'S 
ACCOUNT OF THE ESQUIMAU TRADITIONS. — HUNTING-GROUNDS CON- 
TRACTED BY THE ACCUMULATION OF ICE. — HARDSHIPS OF THEIR LIFE. — 
THEIR SUBSISTENCE. — THE RACE DWINDLING AWAY. — VISIT TO THE 
GLACIER. — RE-SURVEY OF THE GLACIER. — KALUTUNAH CATCHING BIRDS. 

— A SNOW-STORM AND A GALE.— THE MID-DAY OP THE ARCTIC SUMMER. 

Having determined to be guided by circumstances, 
as set forth in the last chapter, I had now only to 
await the breaking up of the ice and the hberation 
of the schooner, — an incident which I could not an- 
ticipate wholly without anxiety, owing to our expo- 
sure to the southwest rendering the disruption liable 
to come in the midst of a heavy swell from the sea 
that would set us adrift in a rolling pack. 

The spring had already fairly set in when I re- 
turned from the north, and each day added to the en- 
croachment of the water upon the ice. A wonderful 
change had taken place since my departure in April, 
The temperature had risen steadily from 35° below 
zero to as many degrees above it; the wintery cloak 
of whiteness which had so long clothed the hills and 
valleys was giving way under the influence of the 
sun's warm rays ; and torrents of the melted snow 
were dashing wildly down the rugged gorges, or 
bounding in cascades from the lofty cliffs ; and the air 
was everywhere filled with the pleasing roar of fall- 
ing waters. A little lake had formed in a basin be- 



382 THE ARCTIC SPRING. 

hind the Observatory, and a jDlayful rivulet gurgled 
from it over the pebbles down into the harbor, wear- 
ing away the ice along the beach, and the banks of the 
lake and stream were softened by the thaw, and, re- 
lieved of their winter covering, were, thus early in 
June, showing; siscns of a returning; veg;etation ; the 
sap had started in the willow-stems, while ice and 
snow yet lay around the roots, and the mosses, 
and poppies, and saxifrages, and the cochlearia, and 
other hardy plants, had begun to sprout ; the air was 
filled with the cry of birds, which had come back for 
the summer ; the cliffs were alive with the little auks ; 
flocks of eider ducks swept over the harbor in rapid 
flight, seemingly not yet decided which of the islands 
to select for their summer home ; the graceful terns 
flitted, and screamed, and played over the sea; the 
burgomaster-gulls and the ger-falcons sailed about 
us with solemn gravity ; the shrill '■^ Ila-haJi-iuee " of the 
long-tailed duck was often heard, as the birds shot 
swiftly across the harbor ; the snipe were flying about 
the growing fresh-water pools ; the sparrows chirped 
from rock to rock ; long lines of cackling geese were 
sailing far overhead, winging their wa}^ to some more 
remote point of nortlmess ; the deep bellow of the 
walrus came from the ice-rafts, which the summer had 
set adrift upon the sea ; the bay and the fiord were 
dotted over with seal, who had dug through the ice 
from beneath, and lay basking in the warm sun ; and 
the place which I had left robed in the cold mantle of 
w^inter was now dressed in the bright garments of 
spring. The. change had come with marvelous sudden- 
ness. The snow on the surface of the ice was rapidly 
melting ; and, whenever we went outside of the ship, 
we waded through slush. The ice itself was decaying 



REFITTING THE SCHOONER. 383 

rapidly, and its sea-margin was breaking up. The 
" Twins " had been loosened from their bonds and had 
jfloated away ; and a crowd of icebergs, of forms that 
were strange to us, had come sailing out of the 
Sound in stately and solemn procession, wending their 
way to the warmer south — their crystals tumbling 
from them in fountains as they go. 

Every thing about me gave warning that I had re- 
turned from the north in the nick of time. 

McCormick had been at work as well on the inside 
as on the outside of the vessel. The temporary house 
had been removed from the upper deck, and the 
decks, and bulwarks, and cabins, and forecastle had 
been furbished up ; and, after all this spring house- 
cleaning, the little schooner looked as neat and tidy 
as if she had never been besmeared with the soot 
and lamp-smoke of the long winter. The men were 
setting up the rigging ; the bow-sprit, and jib-boom, 
and foretop-mast had been repaired ; the yards had 
been sent aloft ; the masts were being scrajDcd down ; 
and a little paint and tar fairly made our craft shine 
again. The sailors had moved from the hold to their 
natural quarters in the forecastle ; and Dodge was 
busy getting off and stowing away the contents of 
the store-house, except such articles as I had pro- 
posed leaving behind, which were carefully deposited 
in a fissure of a rock, and covered over with heavy 
stones. 

The Esquimaux still hung round us. Tcheitchen- 
guak had set up a tent on the terrace, and had for a 
companion a new-comer, named Alatak, and for house- 
keeper a woman, who appeared to have a roving com- 
mission, without special claim on anybody, and whom 
I had seen before at Booth Bay, where she figured 



384 A CHIEF WAXED FAT. 

among my companions as " The Sentimental Widow." 
Hans had gone, with his family, up to Chester Valley, 
where he was catching auks by hundreds, and living 
in the seal-skin tent that he brought from Cape York. 
Angeit still prowled round the galley and pantry, 
and continued, alternately, to annoy and amuse the 
cook and still stoutly to resist the steward's efforts at 
conversion. Kalutunah, my jolly old chief, held on 
at Etah, and looked to my abundant commissariat 
and fruitful bounty as the source of all human bliss. 
He had grown so rich that he did not know where to 
put all his wealth ; and when I weut over to Etah to 
look after him, I found him waxing fat on laziness, 
and stupid with over-feeding. I discovered him loung- 
ing behind a rock, basking in the warm sunshine, like 
the monk in the " Monastery," sitting before the fire, 
•' thinking of nothing." He was much rejoiced at 
seeing me again, asked me many questions about my 
journey, and where I had been ; said that he had 
never been so happy in all his life before ; and he 
stole the thoughts, if not the Spanish, of honest San- 
cho, in his emphatic declaration, " You have filled my 
belly, and therefore have won my heart." I was sorry 
to have but one doo; to restore to him of the eio;ht 
with which he had supplied me ; but he declared him- 
self satisfied. He appeared, at first, strongly to fear 
that, in returning his dog, I was withdrawing my sup- 
port, and was much gratified when I told him to come 
over and get as much food as he could carry away. 

Kalutunah's first question was, whether I had found 
any Esquimaux. Before starting, I had frequently 
spoken to him concerning the extension of his people 
to the north, and he recited to me a well-established 
tradition of the tribe, that the Esquimaux once ex- 



TRACES OF ESQUIMAUX. 385 

tended both to the north and the south; and that, 
finally, the tribe now inhabiting the coast from Cape 
York to Smith Sound were cut off by the accumula- 
tion of ice as well above as below them ; and he be- 
lieved that Esquimaux were living at this present 
time in both directions. That there was once no break 
in the communication between the natives of the re- 
gion about Upernavik, along the shores of Melville 
Bay, there can be no doubt ; and Kalutunah appeared 
to thiniv that the same would hold good in the oppo- 
site direction. The ice has accumulated in Smith 
Sound as it has in Melville Bay ; and what were evi- 
dently once prosperous hunting-grounds, up to the 
very face of Humboldt Glacier, are now barren wastes, 
where living thing rarely comes. At various places 
along the coast Dr. Kane found the remains of an- 
cient huts ; and lower down the coast, toward the 
mouth of the Sound, there are many of more recent 
date. Near Cairn Point there is a hut which had been 
abandoned but a year before Dr. Kane's visit, in 1853, 
and has not been occupied since. In Van Rensse- 
laer Harbor there were several huts which had been 
inhabited by the last generation. 

The simple discovery of traces of Esquimaux on the 
coast of Grinnell Land was not altogether satisfactory 
to Kalutunah, for he had confidently expected that ] 
would find and bring back with me some living speci- 
mens of them ; but he was still gratified to have his 
traditions confirmed, and he declared that I did not 
go far enough or I should have foimd plenty of na- 
tives ; for, said he, in efiect, " There are good hunting- 
grounds at the north, plenty of musk-ox (oomemak), 
and wherever there are good hunting-grounds, there 
the Esquimaux will be found." 

25 



386 THE ESQUIMAUX. 

Kalutunah grew more sad than I had ever before 
seen him, when I spoke to him of the fortunes of his 
own people. " Ahis ! " said he, " we will soon be all 
gone." I told him that I would come back, and that 
white men would live for many years near Etah. 
" Come back soon," said he, " or there will be none 
here to welcome you ! " 

To contemplate the destiny of this little tribe is 
indeed painful. There is much in this rude people 
deserving of admiration. Their brave and courageous 
struggles for a bare subsistence, against what would 
seem to us the most disheartening obstacles, often 
being wholly without food for days together and 
never obtaining it without encountering danger, 
makes their hold on life very precarious. The sea 
is their only harvest-field ; and, having no boats in 
which to pursue the game, they have only to await 
the turning tide or changing season to open cracks, 
along which they wander, seeking the seal and walrus 
which come there to breathe. The uncertain fortunes 
of the hunt often lead them in the winter time to 
shelter themselves in rude hovels of. snow ; and, in 
summer, the migrating water-fowl come to substitute 
the seal and walrus, which, when the ice-fields have 
floated off, they can rarely catch. 

From the information which I obtained through 
Hans and Kalutunah, I estimated the tribe to number 
about one hundred souls, — a very considerable dimi- 
nution since Dr. Kane left them, in 1855. Hans 
made for me a rude map of the coast from Cape York 
to Smith Sound, and set down upon it all of the vil- 
lages, if by such name the inhabited places may be 
called. These places are always close by the margin 
of the sea. They rarely consist of more than one 



SCIENTIFIC COLLECTIONS. 387 

hutj and the largest village of but three. Of the 
nature of these habitations the reader will have al- 
ready gathered sufficient from my description of Ka- 
lutunah's den at Etah. 

Awaiting the thawing out of the schooner, I could 
only employ my time in the immediate vicinity of 
Port Foulke with such work as I found practicable. 
The pendulum experiments of the previous autumn 
were repeated, and several full sets of observations 
were made for the determination of the magnetic force. 
The survey of the harbor and the bay was completed ; 
the terraces were leveled and plotted ; and the angles 
on " My Brother John's Glacier " were renewed. In 
all of these labors I found an intelligent and pains- 
taking assistant in Mr. Radcliffe. This gentleman also 
labored assiduously with the photographic apparatus ; 
and, through his patient cooperation, I was finally 
enabled to secure a large number of reasonably good 
pictures. Some valuable collections of natural his- 
tory were also made, and in this department I had 
much useful assistance from Mr. Knorr and Mr. Starr. 
The ice in the harbor offered them a fine opportunity 
as the cracks opened, and their labors were rewarded 
with one of the finest collections of marine inverte- 
brata that has been made from Arctic waters.^ My 

1 I am indebted to Dr. William Stimpson for a careful examination and 
comparison of this collection, the results of which were published by him 
in the " Proceedings" of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadel- 
phia, for May, 1860. The collection contains little that is wholly new ; 
but, as Dr. Stimpson has remarked, " They possess great interest from 
having been found, in great part, in localities much nearer the Pole than 
any previous expeditions have succeeded in reaching on the American side 
of the Arctic Circle. They include some species hitherto found only on 
the European side ; and, we may add, the number of species collected by 
Dr. Hayes is greater than that brought back by any single expedition 
which has yet visited those seas, as far as can be judged by published ac- 



•388 AK ENLIVENING SCENE. 

journey to the glacier occupied me a week. We 
pitched our tent near Alida Lake, and went systemat- 
ically to work to measure and photograph our old ac- 
quaintance of the last autumn. 

We arrived at the lake in the midst of a very en- 
livening scene. The snow had mainly disappeared 
from the valley, and, although no flowers had yet ajj- 
peared, the early vegetation was covering the banks 
with green, and the feeble growths oj^ened their little 
leaves almost under the very snow, and stood alive 
and fresh in the frozen turf, looking as glad of the 
spring as their more ambitious cousins of the warm 
south. Numerous small herds of reindeer had come 
down from the mountains to fatten on this newly 
budding life. Gushing rivulets and fantastic water- 
falls mingled their pleasant music with the ceaseless 
hum of birds, myriads of which sat upon the rocks of 
the hill-side, or were perched upon the cliffs, or sailed 
through the air in swarms so thick that they seemed 
like a dark cloud passing before the sun. These birds 
were the hitherto mentioned little auk [uria ciIIcb), 
and are a water-fowl not larger than a quail. The 
swift flutter of their wings and their constant cry 
filled the air with a roar like that of a storm ad- 
vancing among the forest trees. The valley was glow- 
ing with the sunlight of the early morning, which 
streamed in over the glacier, and robed hill, mountain, 
and plain in brightness. 

Hans had pitched his tent at the further end of the 
lake, and Kalutunah came up with Myouk and Ala- 
counts." The collection embraces, of Crustacea, 22 species; Annelida, 18 
species; MoUusca, 21 species; Echinodermata, 7 species; Acalephce, 1 spe- 
cie ; and, besides these, a considerable number of NudibrancJiiata, Ac- 
tinicE, etc., which cannot well be determined from alcoholic specimens. 



GLACIEE MOVEMENT. 389 

tak, and joined him. Jensen quickly shot a deer, and 
Hans brought us some auks ; and, before going to 
work, we drew around a large rock, of which we 
made a table, and partook of a substantial dinner of 
Carl's preparation, washing it down with purest water 
from the glacier, while listening to the music of gur- 
gling streams and the song of birds. 

The face of the glacier had undergone much change. 
Blocks of immense size had broken from it, and lay 
strewn over the valley at its base ; while the glacier 
itself had pressed down the slope, crowding rocks, and 
snow, and the debris of ice before it in a confused, 
wave-like heap. The progress toward the sea had 
been steady and irresistible. 

The journey to the top of the glacier was much 
more difficult than in the previous autumn, the snow 
having in a great measure melted away, exposing the 
rocks, and embarrassino- us in the ascent of the ai:la- 
cier's side, as well as of the gorge. Every thing was 
wet and mucky, overhead as well as under foot. The 
glacier-surflice was shedding water from every side, 
like the roof of a house in a February thaw ; arid the 
little streams which flowed down its side, joining the 
waters of the melting snow, trickled underneath the 
glacier and reappeared in rushing torrents in the val- 
ley below from the glacier front ; and thence poured 
into the lake, and from the lake to the sea. 

I was fortunate in finding my stakes all standing ; 
and, having brought up the theodolite, I repeated the 
angles which, with Sonntag, I had taken the previous 
October. These angles, when afterwards reduced, ex- 
hibited a descent of the centre of the glacier, down 
the valley, of ninety-six feet. 

Chester Valley has in former times been quite a re- 



390 THE MUSK-OX. 

sort of the Esquimaux. We found there several old 
ruins of huts, some of them with bones strewn about 
them, which showed that they were not of very an- 
cient date. Among these bones, which were mostly 
of the walrus, seal, and bears, I found a part of the 
head of a musk-ox, and in such a ]30sition as ap- 
peared to render it probable that the animal of 
which it had formed a part had been the food of the 
former inhabitants of the ruin. Upon referring the 
matter to Kalutunah, he told me that the musk-ox 
was supposed to have been once numerous along the 
entire coast, and that they are still occasionally seen. 
No longer ago than the previous winter, a hunter of 
Wolstenholme Sound, near a j)lace called Oomeak, had 
come upon two animals and killed one of them. It 
would seem from this circumstance that the musk-ox 
is not yet extinct in Greenland, as naturalists have 
supposed. 

One day of my stay in the valley was occupied 
with running a set of levels down from the foot of 
the glacier to the sea, by which I found the former 
to be ninety-two feet above the latter ; and another 
day was passed in hunting. 

It would be impossible to convey an adequate idea of 
the immense numbers of the little auks which swarmed 
around us. The slope on both sides of the valley 
rises at an angle of about forty-five degrees to a dis- 
tance of from three hundred to five hundred feet, 
where it meets the cliffs, which stand about seven 
hundred feet higher. These hill-sides are composed 
of the loose rocks which have been split off from the 
cliffs by the frost. The birds crawl among these 
rocks, winding far in through narrow places, and 
there deposit each a single egg and hatch their young, 



AUK-CATCHING. 391 

secure from their enemy, the foxes, which prowl 
round in great numbers, ever watching for a meal. 

Having told Kalutunah that I wanted to accom- 
pany him and help him at auk-catching, that worthy 
individual came to my tent early one morning, much 
rejoiced that the Nalegaksoak had so favored him, and, 
bright and early, hurried me to the hill-side. The 
birds were more noisy than usual, for they had just 
returned in immense swarms from the sea, where they 
had been getting their breakfast.^ Kalutunah carried 
a small net, made of light strings of seal-skin knitted 
together very ingeniously. The staff by which it 
was held was about ten feet long. After clambering 
over the rough, sharp stones, we arrived at length 
about half-way up to the base of the cliffs, where 
Kalutunah crouched behind a rock and invited me to 
follow his example. I observed that the birds were 
nearly all in flight, and were, with rare exceptions, 
the males. The length of the slope on which they 
were congregated was about a mile, and a constant 
stream of birds was rushing over it, but a few feet 
above the stones ; and, after making in their rapid 
flight the whole length of the hill, they returned 
higher in the air, performing over and over again the 
complete circuit. Occasionally a few hundreds or 
thousands of them would drop down, as if following 
some leader ; and in an instant the rocks, for a space 
of several rods, would swarm all over with them, — 
their black backs and pure white breasts speckhng 
the hill very prettily. 

1 The food of the little auk, as indeed the food of all of the Arctic 
water-fowl, consists of different varieties of marine invertebrata, chiefly 
crui<iacea, with which the Arctic waters abound. It is owing to the riches 
of the North water in these low forms of marine life that the birds flock 
there in. such great number during the breeding season, which begins in 
June and ends in August. 



392 AUK-CATCHING. 

While I was watching these movements with much 
interest, my companion was intent only upon business, 
and warned me to lie lower, as the birds saw me and 
were flying too high overhead. Having at length 
got myself stowed away to the satisfaction of my 
savage companion, the sport began. The birds were 
beginning again to whirl their flight closer to our 
heads, — so close, indeed, did they come that it 
seemed almost as if I could catch them with my cap. 
Presentl}^, I observed my companion preparing him- 
self as a flock of unusual thickness was approaching ; 
and, in a moment, up went the net ; a half dozen 
birds flew bang into it, and, stunned with the blow, 
they could not flutter out before Kalutunah had 
slipped the staff quickly through his hands and 
seized the net ; with his left hand he now pj:essed 
down the birds, while with the right he dreTV them 
out, one by one ; and, for want of a third hand, he 
used his teeth to crush their heads. The wins^s were 
then locked across each other, to keep them from flut- 
tering away ; and, with an air of triumph, the old fel- 
low looked around at me, spat the blood and feathers 
from his mouth, and went on with the sport, tossing 
up his net and hauling it in with much rapidity, until 
he had caught about a hundred birds; when, my curi- 
osity being amply satisfied, we returned to camp and 
made a hearty meal out of the game which we had 
bagged in this novel and unsportsman-like manner. 
While an immense stew was preparing, Kalutunah 
amused himself with tearing off the birds' skins, and 
consuming the raw flesh while it was yet warm. 

Our stay at the glacier was brought suddenly to an 
end by a violent storm of wind and snow, and both 
ourselves and our Esquimau companions were forced 



HURRICANE. 393 

to seek other shelter. The storm came from the north- 
east, and the first mischief clone was to pick Hans's tent 
up and carry it off down the valley like a balloon, and 
finally to drop it in the lake. Without waiting long to 
lament over the unhappy circumstance, the whole Es- 
quimau party set out for Etah. As they passed our 
tent, Kalutunah stopped a moment at the door, and 
despite the fierce wind and the snow which covered 
him all over, he still bore the same imperturbable 
grin. " You should have seen Hans's tent ! " said he ; 
and the old fellow fairly shook with laughter, as he 
recalled the ridiculous scene of the suddenly unhoused 
party and their vanishing tent tearing away toward 
the lake. But his satisfaction reached its climax 
when he informed us that it was going to blow harder, 
and that our turn would come directly. Sure enough 
it was as the savage had predicted ; for, soon after- 
ward, we heard a great noise, — the photographic 
tent had given way, the instruments and plates were 
scattering over the stones, the glasses were being all 
crushed up into little bits ; and, while we were spring- 
ing up to go out and save the wreck, our windward 
guj^s gave way, and our canvas protection following 
the example of Hans's seal-skins, left us standing in 
the very jaws of the storm. As may be supposed, we 
did not delay long in finding our way back on board. 
I found the schooner in a somewhat critical situa- 
tion. The spars had been sent aloft and caught the 
wind, and the vessel being still firndy locked in the 
ice, the masts were subjected to a dangerous strain. 
I thought, at one time, that they woidd be carried 
bodily out of the schooner, and had guys fastened to 
the mast-heads and secured to stakes driven in the 
ice to windward. The loose ice was all blown out of 



394 MID-SUMMER. 

the bay, the icebergs were driven out of sight, and 
the open water was not more than a quarter of a 
mile distant from us. 

The sun reaching its greatest northern declination 
on the 21st, we were now in the full blaze of summer. 
Six eventful months had passed over since the Arctic 
midnight shrouded us in gloom, and now we had 
reached the Arctic mid-day. And this mid-day was a 
day of wonderful brightness. The temperature had 
gone up higher than at any previous time, marking, 
at meridian, 49°, while in the sun the thermometer 
showed 57°. The barometer was away up to 30.076, 
and a more calm and lovely air never softened an 
Arctic landscape. 

Tempted by the day, I strolled down into the valley 
south of the harbor. The recent snow had mostly dis- 
appeared, and valley and hill-side were speckled with a 
rich carpet of green, with only here and there a patch 
of the winter snow yet undissolved, — an emerald 
carpet, fringed and inlaid with silver and sprinkled 
over with fragments of a bouquet, — for many flow- 
ers were now in full bloom, and their tiny faces 
peeped above the sod. A herd of reindeer were 
browsing on the plain beneath me, and some white 
rabbits had come from their hiding-places to feed 
upon the bursting willow-buds. New objects of inter- 
est led me on from spot to spot — babbling brooks, 
and rocky hill-sides, and little glaciers, and softening 
snow-banks, alternating with patches of tender green 
— until, at length, I came to the base of a lofty hill, 
whose summit was surmounted with an imposing 
wall which overlooked the sea, seemingly a vast tur- 
reted castle, guarding the entrance to the valley. I 
thought of my late comrade, and named it Sonntag's 



LITTLE JULIA'S GLEN AND FALL. 



395 



Monument. Passing this, I climbed to a broad pla- 
teau, probablj^ five hundred yards above the sea ; and 
keeping along this toward Cape Alexander, came at 
length upon a deep gorge at the bottom of which 
flowed a stream, some ten yards over, which came 
from the melting snows of the mountains and the 
mer de glace. Descending into this ravine I followed 
its rough banks until they came abruptly to the tall 
cliff of the coast, over which the water leaped wildly 
down into a deep and picturesque glen, which it filled 
with a cloud of its own spray. The spot figures in 
my diary as Little Julia's Glen and Fall. 




CHAPTER XXXVI. 

THE ARCTIC SUMMER. — THE FLORA. — THE ICE DISSOLVING. — A SUMMER STORM 
OF RAIN, HAIL, AND SNOW. — THE TERRACES. —ICE ACTION. — UPHEAVAL OF 
THE COAST. — GEOLOGICAL INTEREST OF ICEBERGS AND THE LAND-ICE. — 
A WALRUS HUNT. — THE " FOURTH." — VISIT TO LITTLETON ISLAND. — GREAT 
NUMBERS OP EIDER-DUCKS AND GULLS. — THE ICE BREAKING UP. — CRITI- 
CAL SITUATION OF THE SCHOONER. —TAKING LEAVE OF THE ESQUIMAUX. 
— ADIEU TO PORT FOULKE. 

The reader will have observed the marvelous 
change that had come over the face of Nature since 
the shadow of the night had passed away. Recalling 
those chapters which recount the gloom and silence of 
the Arctic night, — the death-like quiet which reigned 
in the endless darkness, — the absence of every living 
thing that could relieve the solituiie of its terrors, — 
he will perhaps hardly have been prepared to see, 
without surprise, the same landscape covered with an 
endless blaze of light, the air and sea and earth teem- 
ing with life, the desert places sparkling v/ith green, 
and brightening with flowers, — the mind finding 
everywhere some new object of pleasure, where be- 
fore there was but gloom. The change of the Arctic 
winter to the Arctic summer is indeed the change 
from death to life ; and the voice which speaks to the 
sun and the winds, and brings back the joyous day, is 
that same voice which said 

" She is not dead, but sleepeth," — 

and the pulseless heart was made to throb again, and 
the bloom returned to the pallid cheek. 



THE ARCTIC SUMMER. 397 

There is truly a rare charm in the Arctic summer, 
especially if watched unfolding from the darkness, 
and followed through the growing warmth, until the 
snows are loosened from the hills and the fountains 
burst forth, and the feeble flower-growths spring into 
being, and the birds come back with their merry 
music ; and then again as it passes away, under 
the dark shadow of a sunless sky, — the fountains 
sealing up, the hill-sides and valleys taking on again 
the white robes of winter and the stillness of the tomb, 
the birds in rapid flight with the retreating day, and 
the mantle of darkness settling upon the mountains, 
and overspreading the plain. 

To describe the summer as I have before described 

the winter, and to attempt fully to picture in detail 

those features which give it such a striking contrast to 

the winter as is not seen in any other quarter of the 

world, would too far prolong this narrative ; and I 

will therefore content myself with selecting from my 

diary such extracts as will show the progress of the 

season, and those occuj^ations of myself and associates 

that bore upon the purposes which we had mainly in 

view. 

Jvuie 22d. 

It is just six months since I wrote, " The sun 
has reached to-day its greatest southern declination, 
and we have passed the Arctic midnight ; " and now 
the sun has reached its greatest northern declina- 
tion, and we have passed the Arctic noonday. Con- 
stant light has succeeded constant darkness, a bright 
and cheerful world has banished a painful solitude ; — 

" The winter is past and gone ; the flowers appear on the earth ; 
the time of the singing of birds is come ; " 

and the long night which the glad day has succeeded 
is remembered as a strange dream. 



ARCTIC FLORA. 



June 23d. 
A bright day, with the thermometer at 47°, and 
light wind from the south. I have been out with my 
young assistants collecting plants and lichens. The 
rocks are almost everywhere covered with the latter, — 
one variety, orange in color, grows in immense patches, 
and gives a cheerful hue to the rocks, while another, 
the tripe de roche, which is still more abundant, gives a 
mournful look to the stony slopes which it covers. I 
have brought in a fine assortment of flowers, and it 
seems as if the plants are now mostly in bloom. They 
have blossomed several days earlier than at Van Rens- 
selaer Harbor in 1854. I have had a bouquet of them 
in my cabin for many days past, and from the banks 
of the little lake behind the Observatory I can always 
replenish it at will.^ 

1 ISTot wishing to interrupt the text with details which would' have little 
interest for the general reader, I give here the complete flora (so far as a 
most persistent effort could make it so) of the region northward from 
Whale Sound. Most of the plants were found at Port Foulke. My col- 
lections numbered several thousand specimens, which my kind friend, Mr. 
Elias Durand, of Philadelphia, was good enough to assist me in arranging, 
and afterward to classify in a paper for the " Proceedings " of the Acad- 
emy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, from which I give the following 
list : — 



1. 


Ranunculus nivalis. 


16. 


Lychnis apetala. 


2. 


Papaver nudicaule. 


17. 


Lychnis pancijlora. 


3. 


Hesperis Pallasii. 


18. 


Dryas integrifolia. 


4. 


Draba Alpina. 


19. 


Dryas octopetala. 


6. 


Draba corymbosa. 


20. 


Potentilla pulchella. 


6. 


Draba hiria. 


21. 


Potentilla nivalis. 


7. 


Draba gtacialas. 


22. 


Alchemilla vulgaris. 


8. 


Draba rupesiris. 


23. 


Saxifraga opposiiifolia. 


9. 


Cochlearia officinalis. 


24. 


Saxifraga Jlagellaris. 


10. 


Vesicaria Arctica. 


25. 


Saxifraga ccespitosa. 


11. 


Arenaria Arctica. 


26. 


Saxifraga rivularis. 


12. 


Stellaria humifusa. 


27. 


Saxifraga tricuspidala. 


13. 


Stellaria Stricta. 


28. 


Saxifraga cornua. 


14. 


Cerastium Alpinum. 


29. 


Saxifraga nivalis. 


15. 


Silene acaulis. 


30. 


Leontodon palustre. 



SUMMER SHOWERS. 



399 



June 25 th. 

A rainy day for a novelty. Nearly an inch of water 
has fallen already, and it still continues to patter upon 
the deck. I was out completing my geological collec- 
tions when the shower began, and not only got thor- 
oughly soaked, but had like to have got killed into 
the bargain ; for, in attempting to cross a small glacier 
which lay on the side of a hill, my feet flew up in con- 
sequence of the water making it more slippery, and I 
slid down over the ice and the stones which stuck up 
through it, and was finally landed among the rocks 
below with many bruises and not much clothing. 

The thermometer has stood at 48°, and the contin- 
uance of the warmth since the 20th, together with 
this "gentle rain from heaven," is telling uj^on the 
ice. It is getting very rotten, and the sea is eating 
into it raiDidly. The " hinge " of the ice-foot is tum- 
bling to pieces, and we have trouble in getting ashore. 

June 26tli. 

Our summer shower has changed its complexion, 

and the " gentle rain " is converted into hail and snow, 

quite as unseasonable as it is disagreeable. The white 

snow with which a fierce wind has bespattered the 



31. 


Campanula linifolia. 


43. 


Salix herbacea. 


32. 


Vaccinium uliginosum. 


44. 


Luzida (too young). 


83. 


Andromeda (eiragona. 


45. 


Carex rigida. 


34. 


Pyrola chlorantha. 


46. 


Eriopliorum vaginaium. 


35. 


Bartsia Alpina. 


47. 


Alopecwus Alpinus. 


36. 


Pedicularis Kanei. 


48. 


Glyceria Arctica. 


£,7. 


Armeria Lahradorica. 


49. 


Poa Arctica. 


38. 


Polygonum viviparmn. 


50. 


Poa Alpina. 


39. 


Oxyria didyma. 


51. 


Hierocloa Alpina. 


40. 


Empetrum nigrum. 


52. 


Festuca ovina. 


41. 


Betula nana. 


63. 


Lycopodium annoiinum. 


42. 


Salix Arctica. 







400 A SUMMER STORM. 

cliffs gives a very un-June-like aspect to tiie prospect 
from the deck. The wind is southerly, and the waves, 
coming into the bay with no other resistance than 
that given by a few icebergs, begin to shake the ice 
about the schooner, and we can see the pulsations of 
the seas in the old fire-hole. I should not much relish 
seeing the ice crumbling to pieces about us in the 
midst of such a storm. 

June 27th. 

The storm continues, — occasional rain, mixed up 
with a great deal of hail. The scene from the deck, 
to seaward, was so wild that I was tempted to the 
nearest island, (the only one of the three not in open 
water,) to get a better view of it. I had much trouble 
facing the wind, and was nearly blown into the sea, 
and the hail cut the face terribly. The little flowers, 
which had been seduced by the warm sun of last week 
into unveiling their modest faces, seemed shrinking 
and dejected. 

I was, however, repaid for some discomfort by the 
scene which I have brought back in my memory, and 
which is to go down on a sheet of clean white paper 
that is now drying on a drawing-board which I owe to 
McCormick's ingenuity. I have not seen the equal 
of this storm except once — a memorable occasion — 
last year, when we w^ere fighting our way into Smith 
Sound. The wind seemed, as it did then, fairly to 
shovel the water up and pitch it through the air, until 
it had to stop from sheer exhaustion, and then I could 
see away off under a dark cloud a vast multitude of 
white specks creeping from the gloom, and moving 
along in solid phalanx, magnifying as they came, and 
charging the icebergs, hissing over their very sum- 
mits, or breaking their heads upon the islands, or 



FRESH EGGS. 401 

wreaking their fury on the ice of the harbor, into 
which their Titan touch opened many a gaping 
wound. 

June 28 th. 

The storm subsiding this morning, a party got a 
boat over the ice into the water, and, puUing to the 
outer island, brought back the first fresh eggs of the 
season. Those of the Httle tern or sea-swallow are 
the most delightful eggs that I have ever tasted. 
Those of the eider-duck are, like the eggs of all other 
duck, not very palatable. Knorr lit upon a patch of 
cochlearia which had just sprouted up around the bird- 
nests of the last year, and no head of the first spring- 
lettuce was ever more enjoyed. I had a capital salad. 
The islands promise to give us all the eggs we want, 
and we shall have little more trouble in getting them 
than a housewife who sends to the farm-yard. The 
ducks have plucked the first instalment of down from 
their breasts, and Jensen has brought in a good-sized 
bagful of it. The poor birds have been, I fear, robbed 
to little purpose, and will have to pick themselves 
again. Jensen tells me that, upon the islands near 
Upernavik, where he has often gone for eider-down, 
the male bird is sometimes obliged to pluck off his 
handsome coat, to help out his unhappy spouse, when 
she has been so often robbed that she can pluck no 
more of the tender covering for her eggs from her 
naked breast. 

June 30th. 

Another rain-storm, during which half an inch of 
water has fallen. The temperature has gone down to 
38°. The ice is loosening, and threatens to break up 
bodily. 

26 



402 UPHEAVAL OF THE GREENLAND COAST. 

July 2d. 

I have been occupied during the past two days with 
running a set of levels from the harbor across to the 
fiord and with plotting the terraces. These terraces 
are twenty-three in number and rise very regularly to 
an altitude of one hundred and ten feet above the 
mean tide-level. The lowest rises thirty-two feet 
higher than the tide, but above this they climb up 
with great regularity. They are composed of small 
pebbles rounded by water action. 

Of these terraces I have frequently made mention 
in this journal, and their existence in all similar local- 
ities has been before remarked. They have much 
geological interest, as illustrating the gradual up- 
heaval of that part of Greenland lying north of lati- 
tude 76° ; and the interest attaching to them is 
heightened when viewed in connection with the corre- 
sponding depression which has taken place, even 
within the period of Christian occupation, in southern 
Greenland. These evidences of the sinking of the 
Greenland coast from about Cape York, southward, are 
too well known to need any comment in this place ; 
but I may dwell, for a few moments, upon the evi- 
dences of rising of the coast here and northward. At 
many conspicuous points, where the current is swifts 
and the ice is pressed down upon the land with great 
force and rapidity, the rocks are worn away until they 
are as smooth and polished as the surface of a table, 
— a fact which may at any time be observed by 
looking down through the clear water. This smooth- 
ness of the rock continues above the sea, to an eleva- 
tion which I have not been able with positive accu- 
racy to determine in any locality, but having a gen- 
eral correspondence to the height of the terraces at 



GEOLOGICAL CHANGES. 403 

Port Foulke, which, as before observed, rise one hun- 
dred and ten feet above the sea-level. At Cairn Point 
the abrasion is very marked, and, where the polished 
line of syenitic rock leaves off and the rough rock be- 
gins, is quite clearly defined. This same condition also 
exists at Littleton Island (or, rather, McGary Island, 
which lies immediately outside of it) to an almost 
equally marked degree. I have before mentioned the 
evidences of a similar elevation of the opposite coast 
found in the terraced beaches of G-rinnell Land. 

It is curious to observe here, actually taking place 
before our eyes, those geological events which have 
transpired in southern latitudes during the glacier 
epoch, not only in the abrasion of the rock as seen at 
Cairn Point and elsewhere, but in the changes which 
they work in the deeper sea. In this agency the ice- 
foot bears a conspicuous influence. This ice-foot is 
but a shelf of ice, as it were, glued against the shore, 
and is the winter-girdle of all the Arctic coasts. It is 
wade or narrow as the shore slopes gently into the sea 
or meets it abruptly. It is usually broken away to- 
ward the close of every summer, and the masses of 
rock which have been hurled down npon it from the 
cliffs above are carried away and dropped in the sea, 
when the raft has loosened from the shore and drifted 
off, steadily melting as it floats. The amount of rock 
thus transported to the ocean is immense, and yet it 
falls far short of that which is carried by the icebergs ; 
the rock and sand imbedded in which, as they lay in 
the parent glacier, being sometimes sufficient to bear 
them down under the weight until but the merest 
fragment rises above the surface. As the berg melts, 
the rocks and sand fall to the bottom of the ocean ; 
and, if the place of their deposit should one day rise 



404 A WALRUS HUNT. 

above the sea-level, some geological student of future 
ages may, perhaps, be as much puzzled to know how 
they came there as those of the present generation 
are to account for the boulders of the Connecticut 
valley. 

• July 3d. 

I have had a walrus hunt and a most exciting day's 
sport. Much ice has broken adrift and come down 
the Sound, during the past few days ; and, when the 
sun is out bright and hot, the walrus come up out of 
the water to sleep and bask in the warmth on the 
pack. Being upon the hill-top this niorning to select 
a place for building a cairn, my ear caught the hoarse 
bellowing of numerous walrus ; and, upon looking over 
the sea I observed that the tide was carrying the pack 
across the outer limit of the bay, and that it was alive 
with the beasts, which were filling; the air with such 
uncouth noises. Their numbers appeared to be even 
beyond conjecture, for they extended as far as the eye 
could reach, almost every piece of ice being covered. 
There must have been, indeed, many hundreds or 
even thousands. 

Hurrying from the hill, I called for volunteers, and 
quickly had a boat's crew ready for some sport. Put- 
ting three rifles, a harpoon, and a line into one of the 
whale-boats, we dragged it over the ice to the open 
water, into which it was speedily launched. 

We had about two miles to pull before the margin 
of the pack was reached. On the cake of ice to 
which we first came, there w^ere perched about two 
dozen animals ; and these we selected for the attack. 
They covered the raft almost completely, lying 
huddled together, lounging in the sun or lazily roll- 
ing and twisting themselves about, as if to expose 



A WALRUS HUKT. 405 

some fresh part of their unwieldy bodies to the 
warmth, — great, ugly, wallowing sea-hogs, they were 
evidently enjoying themselves, and were without ap- 
prehension of approaching danger. We neared them 
slowly, with muffled oars. 

As the distance between us and the game steadily 
narrowed, we began to realize that we were likely to 
meet with rather formidable antagonists. Their as- 
pect was forbidding in the extreme, and our sensa- 
tions were perhaps not unlike those which the young 
soldier experiences who hears for the first time the 
order to charge the enemy. We should all, very pos- 
sibly, have been quite willing to retreat had we dared 
own it. Their tough, nearly hairless hides, which are 
about an inch thick, had a singularly iron-plated look 
about them, peculiarly suggestive of defense ; while 
their huge tusks, which they brandished with an ap- 
pearance of strength that their awkwardness did not 
diminish, looked like very formidable weapons of 
offense if applied to a boat's planking or to the hu- 
man ribs, if one should happen to find himself floun- 
derinu; in the sea amona; the thick-skinned brutes. 
To complete the hideousness of a facial expression 
which the tusks rendered formidable enough in ap- 
pearance, Nature had endowed them with broad flat 
noses, Avhich were covered all over with stiff whiskers, 
looking much like porcupine quills, and extending up 
to the edge of a pair of gaping nostrils. The use of 
these whiskers is as obscure as that of the tusks ; 
though it is probable that the latter may be as well 
weapons of offense and defense as for the more useful 
purpose of grubbing ilp from the bottom of the sea 
the moUusks which constitute their principal food. 
There were two old bulls in the herd who appeared 



406 A WALRUS HUNT. 

to be dividing their time between sleeping and jam- 
ming their tusks into each other's faces, although they 
appeared to treat the matter with perfect indifference, 
as they did not seem to make any impression on each 
other's thick hides. As we approached, these old fel- 
lows — neither of which could have been less than 
sixteen feet long, nor smaller in girth than a hogs- 
head — raised up their heads, and, after taking a lei- 
surely survey of us, seemed to think us unworthy of 
further notice ; and, then punching each other again 
in the face, fell once more asleep. This was exhibit- 
ing a degree of coolness rather alarming. If they 
had showed the least timidity, w^e should have found 
some excitement in extra caution ; but they seemed 
to make so light of our approach that it was not easy 
to keep up the bold front with which we had com- 
menced the adventure. But we had come quite too 
far to think of backing out ; so we pulled in and made 
ready for the fray. 

Beside the old bulls, the group contained several 
cows and a few calves of various sizes, — some evi- 
dently yearlings, others but recently born, and others 
half or three quarters grown. Some were without 
tusks, while on others they were just sprouting ; and 
above this they were of all sizes up to those of the 
big bulls, which had great curved cones of ivory, 
nearly three feet long. At length we were within a 
few boats' lengths of the ice-raft, and the game had 
not taken alarm. They had probably never seen a 
boat before. Our preparations were made as we ap- 
proached. The walrus will always sink when dead, 
unless held up by a harpoon-line ; and there were 
therefore but two chances for us to secure our game 
— either to shoot the beast dead on the raft, or to 



A WALRUS HUNT. 407 

get a harpoon well into him after lie was wounded, 
and hold on to him until he was killed. As to killing 
the animal where he lay, that was not likely to hap- 
pen, for the thick skin destroys the force of the ball 
before it can reach any vital part, and indeed, at a dis- 
tance, actually flattens it ; and the skull is so heavy 
that it is hard to penetrate with an ordinary bullet, 
unless the ball happens to strike through the eye. 

To Miller, a cool and spirited fellow, who had been 
after whales on the " nor- west coast," was given the 
harpoon, and he took his station at the bows ; while 
Knorr, Jensen, and myself kept our places in the 
stern-sheets, and held our rifles in readiness. Each 
selected his animal, and we fired in concert over the 
heads of the oarsmen. As soon as the rifles were dis- 
charged, I ordered the men to " give way," and the 
boat shot right among the startled animals as they 
rolled off pell-mell into the sea. Jensen had fired at 
the head of one of the bulls, and hit him in the neck ; 
Knorr killed a young one, which was pushed off in 
the hasty scramble and sank ; while I planted a minie- 
ball somewhere in the head of the other bull and 
drew from him a most frightful bellow, — louder, I 
venture to say, than ever came from wild bull of 
Baslian. When he rolled over into the water, which 
he did with a splash that sent the spray fljing all 
over us, he almost touched the bows of the boat and 
gave Miller a good opportunity to get in his harj)oon, 
which he did in capital style. 

The alarmed herd seemed to make straight for the 
bottom, and the line spun out over the gunwale at a 
fearful pace ; but, having several coils in the boat, the 
end was not reached before the animals began to rise, 
and we took in the slack and got ready for what was 



408 A WALRUS HUNT. 

to follow. The strain of the line whipped the boat 
around among some loose fragments of ice, and the 
line having fouled among it, we should have been in 
great jeopardy had not one of the sailors promptly 
sprung out, cleared the line, and defended the boat. 

In a few minutes the whole herd appeared at the 
surface, about fifty yards away from us, the harpooned 
animal being among them. Miller held fast to his 
line, and the boat was started with a rush. The 
coming up of the herd was the signal for a scene 
which baffles description. They uttered one wild 
concerted shriek, as if an agonized call for help ; and 
then the air was filled with answering shrieks. The 
" huk ! huk ! huk ! " of the wounded bulls seemed to 
find an echo everywhere, as the cry was taken up and 
passed along from floe to floe, like the bugle-blast 
passed from squadron to squadron along a line of bat- 
tle ; and down from every piece of ice plunged the 
startled beasts, as quickly as the sailor drops from his 
hammock when the long-roll beats to quarters. With 
their ugly heads just above the water, and with 
mouths wide open, belching forth the dismal " huk ! 
huk ! huk ! " they came tearing toward the boat. 

In a few moments we were completely surrounded, 
and the numbers kept multij^lying with astonishing 
rapidity. The water soon became alive and black 
with them. 

They seemed at first to be frightened and irreso- 
lute, and for a time it did not seem that they medi- 
tated mischief; but this pleasing prospect was soon 
dissipated, and we were forced to look well to our 
safety. 

That they meditated an attack there could no 
longer be a doubt. To escape the onslaught was im- 




lillllliilllllllliillHliiBiaiilEMIHIIiM aE;:::;^^ 



A WALRUS HUNT. 409 

possible. We had raised a hornet's nest about our 
ears in a most astonishingly short space of time, and 
we must do the best we could. Even the wounded 
animal to which we were fast turned upon us, and we 
became the focus of at least a thousand gaping, bel- 
lowing mouths. 

It seemed to be the purpose of the walrus to get 
their tusks over the gunwale of the b'oat, and it was 
evident that, in the event of one such monster hook- 
ing on to us, the boat would be torn in pieces and we 
would be left floating in the sea helpless. We had 
good motive therefore to be active. Miller plied his 
lance from the bows, and gave many a serious wound 
The men pushed back the onset with their oars, while 
Knorr, Jensen, and myself loaded and fired our rifles as 
rapidly as we could. Several times we were in great 
jeopardy, but the timely thrust of an oar, or the lance, 
or a bullet saved us. Once I thought we were surely 
gone. I had fired, and was hastening to load ; a 
wicked-looking brute was making at us, and it seemed 
probable that he would be upon us. I stopped load- 
ing, and was preparing to cram my rifle down his 
throat^; when Knorr, who had got ready his weapon, 
sent a fatal shot into his head. Again, an immense 
animal, the largest that I had ever seen and with 
tusks apparently three feet long, was observed to be 
making his way through the herd with mouth wide 
open, bellowing dreadfully. I was now as before 
busy loading ; Knorr and Jensen had just discharged 
their pieces, and the men were well engaged with 
their oars. It was a critical moment, but, happily, I 
was in time. The monster, his head high above the 
boat, was within two feet of the gunwale, when I 
raised my piece and fired into his mouth. The dis- 



410 A WALRUS HUNT. 

charge killed him instantly, and he went down like a 
stone. 

This ended the fray. I know not why, but the 
whole herd seemed suddenly to take alarm, and all 
dove down with a tremendous splash almost at the 
same instant. When they came up again, still shriek- 
ing as before, they were some distance from us, their 
heads all now " pointed seaward, making from us as 
fast as they could go, their cries growing more and 
more faint as they retreated in the distance. 

We must have killed at least a dozen, and mortally 
wounded as many more. The water was in places 
red with blood, and several half-dead and dying ani- 
mals lay floating about us. The bull to which we 
were made fast pulled away with all his might after 
the retreating herd, but his strength soon became ex- 
hausted ; and, as his speed slackened, we managed to 
haul in the line, and finally approached him so nearly 
that our rifle-balls took effect, and Miller at length 
gave him the coup de grace with his lance. We then 
drew him to the nearest piece of ice, and I had soon 
a fine specimen to add to my Natural History collec- 
tions. Of the others we secured only one ; the rest 
had died and sunk before we reached them. 

I have never before regarded the walrus as a really 
formidable animal ; but this contest convinces me that 
I have done their courage great injustice. They are 
full of fight ; and, had we not been very active and 
self-possessed, our boat would have been torn to pieces, 
and we either drowned or killed. A more fierce at- 
tack than that which they made upon us could hardly 
be imagined, and a more formidable looking enemy 
than one of these huge monsters, with his immense 
tusks and bellowing throat, would be difficult to find. 



THE "GLORIOUS FOURTH." 411 

Next time I try them I will arm my boat's crew with 
lances. The rifle is a poor reliance, and, but for the 
oars, the herd would have been on top of us at any 
time. 

July 4th. 

The " glorious Fourth " gives us a sorry greeting — 
rain and hail and snow are unusual accompaniments 
to this national holiday. The thermometer has gone 
down almost to the freezing point ; but, nevertheless, 
we have fired our salute, and have displayed our bunt^ 
ing, as in duty bound. Thanks to the hunters, we have 
had a good dinner of venison and birds, winding up 
with a cochlearia salad ; and if we lacked the oration, 
we did not the less turn our thoughts to the ever dear 
land, where all are gay, — all alike forgetting for the 
time their differences of party creeds and party inter- 
ests, unite together under the nation's broad banner, 
to hail the returning dawn of its wonderful career, 
and to drink bumpers to fraternal union. God bless 
the day ! 

July 7th. 

I have been up to Littleton Island for three days, 
watching the ice, hunting, etc. We caught another 
walrus and had another fight, but this time we had 
fewer enemies, and drove them off very quickly. 

Littleton and McGary Islands are literally swarm- 
ing with birds, chiefly eider-ducks and burgomaster^. 
There was no end to the number that could have been 
shot. The eggs have nearly all chicks in them, but 
fortunately we have already collected from the islands 
of the harbor a good supply. I found a flock of brant- 
geese, but could not discover their nests. The bur- 
gomaster-gulls are very numerous, but there were no 
ivory or other gulls, as I had hoped to find. They do 
not appear to come so far north. 



412 PREPARATIONS FOR DEPARTUKE. 

The open water has made still further mroads upon 
the ice. The islands are all now in the open sea, and 
it is but a few rods from the ship to its margin. The 
ice still clings tightly to the schooner, notwithstand- 
ing all our efforts to free her. In anticipation of a 
southerly swell setting into the harbor and breaking 
the ice, I have had the men at work for several days 
sawing a crack across the harbor from the vessel's fore- 
foot in the one direction, and from the stern-post in 
the other. The ice is now only 4| feet thick. 

The sails are all bent on, the hawsers are brought 
on board, our depot ashore is completed, and we are 
ready for any fortune. If blown with the ice out to 
sea, we are fully prepared. 

Upon the hill-top of the north side of the harbor 
we have constructed a cairn, and under it I have de- 
posited a brief record of the voyage. The Observa- 
tory I leave standing, and Kalutunah engages that 
the Esquimaux will not disturb it during my absence. 
All of them who have been here are so amply enriched 
that I think I ought to rely upon their good faith ; 
yet the wood will be valuable to them, and these poor 
savages are not the only people who find it hard to 
resist temptation. 

July 9th. 

I have paid another visit to Chester Valley, and 
have bade adieu to "Brother John." If the latter 
continues to grow until I come again, the stakes 
which I have stuck into its back will show some use- 
ful results. The valley was clothed in the full robes 
of summer. The green slopes were sparkling with 
flowers, and the ice had wholly disappeared from Alida 
Lake. Jensen shot some birds and tried hard to catch 
a deer, and while thus engaged I secured a yellow- 



AFLOAT AGAIN! 413 

winged butterfly, and — who would believe it ? — a 
mosquito. And these I add to an entymological col- 
lection which already numbers ten moths, three spi- 
ders, two humble-bees, and two flies, — a pretty good 
proportion of the genus Inseda for this latitude, 78° 17' 
N., longitude 73° W. 

July 10th. 

A heavy swell is setting into the harbor from the 
southwest. There has evidently been a strong south- 
erly wind outside, although it has been blowing but 
lightly here. The ice has been breaking up through 
the day, and crack after crack is opening across the 
harbor. If it lasts twelve hours longer we will be 
liberated. It is a sort of crisis, and may be a danger- 
ous one. The crashing of the ice is perfectly fright- 
ful. The schooner still holds fast in her cradle. 

July nth. 

We have passed through a day of much excitement, 
and are yet not free from it. The seas continuing to 
roll in, more cracks opened across the harbor, until 
the swell at length reached the vessel. Late this 
afternoon, after more than thirty-six hours of sus- 
pense, the ice opened close beside us, and after a few 
minutes another split came diagonally across the ves- 
sel. This was what I had feared, and it was to pre- 
vent it that I had sawed across the harbor. The ice 
was, however, quickly loosened from the bows, but 
held by the stern, and the wrenches given the schooner 
by the first few movements made every timber of her 
fairly creak again ; but finally the sawed crack came 
to the rescue, and, separating a little, the schooner 
gave a lurch to port, which loosened the ice from un- 
der the counter, and we were really afloat, but grind- 
ing most uncomfortably, and are grinding still. 



414 WAITING FOR A WIND. 

July 12th. 

The swell has subsided, the storm clouds have 
cleared away, and the tide is scattering the ice out 
over the sea. We are fairly and truly afloat, and 
once more cannot leave the deck without a boat. It 
is just ten months to a day since we were locked up, 
during which time our little craft has been a house 
rather than a ship. We are glad to feel again the 
motion of the sea ; and " man the boat " seems a 
novel order to give when one wants to go ashore. 
We await only a wind to send us to sea. 

July 13tk 
Still calm, and we are lying quietly among the ice 
which so lately held us prisoners. I have been ashore, 
taking leave of my friends the Esquimaux. They 
have pitched their tents near by, and, poor fellows ! I 
am truly sorry to leave them. They have all been 
faithful, each in his way, and they have done me most 
important service. The alacrity with which they have 
placed their dogs at my disposal (and without these 
dogs I could have done absolutely nothing) is the 
strongest proof that they could give me of their de- 
votion and regard ; for their dogs are to them inval- 
uable treasures, without which they have no secu- 
rity against want and starvation, to themselves and 
their wives and children. True, I have done them 
some good, and have given them presents of great 
value, yet nothing can supply the place of a lost 
dog ; and out of all that I obtained from them, 
there were but two animals that survived the hard- 
ships of my spring journey. These I have returned 
to their original owners. I have given them high 
hopes of my speedy return, and in this prospect they 
appear to take consolation. 



ADIEU TO PORT FOULKE. 415 

It is sad to reflect upon the future of these strange 
people ', and yet they contemplate a fate which they 
view as inevitable, w^ith an air of indifference difficult 
to comprehend. The only person who seemed seri- 
ously to feel any pang at the prospect of the desolation 
which will soon come over the villages, is Kalutunah. 
This singular being ■ — a mixture of seriousness, good- 
nature, and intelligence — seems truly to take pride 
in the traditions of his race, and to be really pained 
at the prospect of their downfall. When I took his 
hand to-day and told him that I would not come 
ashore any more, the tears actually started to his 
eyes, and I was much touched with his earnest words, 
— ^ it was almost an entreaty, — " Come back and save 
us." Save them I would and will, if I am spared to 
return ; and I am quite sure that upon no beings in 
the whole wide world could Christian love and Chris- 
tian charity more worthily fall. 

July 14th. 

Moving out to sea under full sail, with a light wind 
from the eastward. We make little progress, but are 
able to pick our way among the loose ice. As we 
pass along, I see shoals of old tin cans, dead dogs, 
piles of ashes, and other debris of the winter, floating 
on ice-rafts upon the sea, — relics of the ten months 
which are gone, with all its dreary and all its pleas- 
ant memories. As I retreated from the deck, I saw 
the Esquimaux standing on the beach, gazing after us ; 
the little white Observatory grew dim in the distance ; 
and I have come below with a kindly " Adieu, Port 
Foulke," lingering on the lip. 



CHAPTER XXXYII. 

tEAVING PORT FOULKE. — EFFORT TO REACH CAPE ISABELLA. — MEET THE 
PACK AND TAKE SHELTER AT LITTLETON ISLAND. — HUNTING. — ABUN- 
DANCE OF BIRDS AND WALRUS. — VISIT TO CAIRN POINT. — REACHING THE 
WEST COAST. — VIEW FROM CAPE ISABELLA. — PLANS FOR THE FUTURE.— 
OUR RESULTS. — CHANCES OF REACHING THE POLAR SEA DISCUSSED. — THE 
GLACIERS OF ELLESMERE LAND. 

The schooner glided gently out to sea, but the wind 
soon died away and the current carried us down into 
the lower bay, where we moored to a berg, and I went 
ashore and got some good photographs of Little Ju- 
lia's Glen and Fall, Sonntag's Monument, Crystal Pal- 
ace Glacier, and Cape Alexander. 

Although doubtful as to the prospect ahead, I was 
determined not to quit the field without making an- 
other attempt to reach the west coast and endeavor to 
obtain some further information that might be of ser- 
vice to me in the future. I had still a vague hope that, 
even with my crippled vessel, some such good prospect 
might open before me as would justify me in remain- 
ing. x\.ccordingly, as soon as the wind came, we cast 
off from the friendly berg, and held once more for 
Cape Isabella. The wind rose to a fresh breeze as we 
crawled away from the land, and the schooner, as if 
rejoiced at her newly acquired freedom, bounded over 
the waters with her old swiftness. But, unhappily, a 
heavy pack lay in our course, through which, had the 
schooner been strong, a passage might have been 
forced ; but as it could not be done without frequent 



AT LITTLETON ISLAND. 417 

collisions with the ice, the intention was not enter- 
tained. The pack was not more than ten miles from 
the Greenland shore, and I therefore put back to 
Littleton Island, and from that point watched the 
movements of the ice. 

We found a convenient anchorage between Littleton 
and McGary Islands, and we reached it just in time; 
for a severe gale, with thick snow, set in from the north- 
ward as I had anticipated from the appearance of the 
sky, and held for several days. Meanwhile the people 
amused themselves with hunting. A herd of deer was 
discovered on Littleton Island, and the walrus were 
very numerous. Four of the latter were captured, — 
this time, however, not from a boat, but by Hans, in 
the true Esquimau style. They came along the shore 
in great numbers, lying upon the beach in the sun, 
where Hans approached them stealthily, and got fast 
to them one by one with his harpoon. The line being 
secured to a rock, the animals were held until they 
were exhausted, and then drawn in, when they soon 
became a prey to the rifles. Wishing to obtain a 
young one for a specimen, 1 joined the hunters ; and, 
selecting from the herd which lay upon the rocks one 
to suit my purposes, I fired upon and killed it. The 
others plunged quickly into the water. The mother 
of the dead calf was the last to leave the rock, and 
seemed to do so very reluctantly. In a few moments 
she came to the surface, and, wheeling around, discov- 
ered the young one still lying upon the rock. Find- 
ing that it did not answer to her cries, she rushed 
frantically into the face of danger, and in full view of 
the cause of her woes, (for I had approached very 
near the siDot,) the unhappy creature, intent only 
upon rescuing her offspring, drew herself out of the 

27 



418 AT CAPE ISABELLA. 

water^ crying piteously all the while, and, crawling 
around it, pushed it before her into the sea. I en- 
deavored first to frighten her off, and then tried to 
arrest her, and save my specimen, with a fresh bullet ; 
but all to no effect. Although badly wounded, she 
succeeded in her purpose, and, falling upon the dead 
calf with her breast, carried it down with her, and I 
saw them no more. I have never seen a stronger or 
more touching instance of the devotion of mother to 
its young, among dumb animals, and it came from a 
quarter wholly unexpected. 

Having leisure while the snow-storm lasted, I went 
up to Cairn Point to see how the ice appeared from 
that place. After waiting there for a day, the atmos- 
phere cleared ujd, and I could see with much distinct- 
ness to Cape Isabella. The line of the solid ice ex- 
tended in a somewhat irregular curve up the Sound 
from that cape to a few miles above Cairn Point. 
The sea thence down into the North Water was filled 
with a loose pack. 

The day after my return we put to sea. The pack 
being now much scattered, we entered it and j)ene- 
trated to the margin of the fast ice without difficulty. 
In two days we reached the coast near Gale Point, 
about ten miles below Cape Isabella. Thence to the 
cape I went in a whale-boat ; but the cape itself could 
not be passed ; so we hauled into the first convenient 
bight, and climbed the hill. The view convinced me, 
if I was not convinced already, of the folly of at- 
tempting any thing further with the schooner. I no 
longer hesitated, even in thought. My opinions were 
thus recorded at the time : — 

"I am fuUy persuaded, if there still remained a 



RESULTS OF THE VOYAGE. 419 

lingering doubt, of the correctness of my decision 
to return home, and come out next year strengthened 
and refitted with steam. If my impulses lead me to 
try conclusions once more with the ice, my judgment 
convinces me that it would be at the risk of every 
thing. As well use a Hudson-river steamboat for a 
battering-ram as this schooner, with her weakened 
bows, to encounter the Smith Sound ice. 

" I have secured the following important advantages 
for the future, and, with these I must, perforce, rest 
satisfied, for the present : — 

" 1. I have brought my party through without sick- 
ness, and have thus shown that the Arctic winter 
of itself breeds neither scurvy nor discontent. 

" 2. I have shown that men may subsist themselves 
in Smith Sound independent of support from home. 

" 3. That a self-sustaining colony may be estab- 
lished at Port Foulke, and be made the basis of an 
extended exploration. 

"4. That the exploration of this entire region is 
practicable from Port Foulke, — having from that 
stajting-point pushed my discoveries much beyond 
those of my predecessors, without any second party 
in the field to cooperate with me, and under the most 
adverse circumstances. 

" 5. That, with a reasonable degree of certainty, it 
is shown that, with a strong vessel. Smith Sound may 
be navigated and the open sea reached beyond it. 

" 6. I have shown that the open sea exists. 

" And now, having proven this much, I shall return 
to Boston, repair the schooner, get a small steamer, 
and come back as early next spring as I can. The 



420 EESOURCES OF PORT FOULKE. 

schooner I will leave at Port Foiilke ; and, remaining 
there only long enough to see the machinery set in 
motion for starting the hunt, collecting the Esqui- 
maux, and establishing the discipline of the colony, I 
will seek Cape Isabella, and thence steam northward 
by the route already designated. If I cannot reach 
the open sea in one season, I may the next ; in any 
event, I shall always have at Port Foulke a produc- 
tive source of food and furs, and a vessel to carry 
them to Cape Isabella, upon which I may fall back ; 
and if I need dogs, they will be reared at the colony 
in any numbers that may be required. Besides, if in 
this exploration I should be deficient in means, and 
the expedition should be hereafter left entirely to its 
own resources, a sufficient profit may be made out of 
the colony in oils, furs, walrus ivory, eider down, etc., 
to pay at least a very considerable proportion of the 
wages of the employes, beside subsisting them. The 
whole region around Port Foulke is teeming with 
animal life, and one good hunter could feed twenty 
mouths. Both my winter and summer experience 
proves the correctness of this opinion. The sea 
abounds in walrus, seal, narwhal, and white w^hale ; 
the land in reindeer and foxes ; the islands and the 
cliffs, in summer, swarm with birds ; and the ice is the 
roaming-ground of the bears.'' 

Thus much for the future ; let me now come back 
to the present. 

Inglefield has very correctly exhibited the expan- 
sion of Smith Sound, as I have had most excellent 
opportunity for observing, both in my passage over, 
and from Cape Isabella. He has placed some of the 
capes too far north, and his local attraction, probably. 



CAPE ISABELLA. 421 

has caused a sliorht error in the axis of the Sound. 
His Victoria Head is the eastern cape of my Bache 
Island, and his Cape Albert is the eastern cape of 
Henry Island. 

The view up the Sound from Cape Isabella was 
truly magnificent. The dark, wall-sided coast, ren- 
dered more dark in appearance by the contrast with 
the immense cloak of whiteness that lay above it, 
was relieved by numerous glaciers, which pour 
through the valleys to the sea. The mer de glace is 
of great extent, and, rising much more rapidly and 
being more broken, gives a picturesque effect not 
belono-ino; to the Greenland side, and adds much 
to the grandeur of its appearance. The mountains 
are lofty, and are everywhere uniformly covered with 
ice and snow ; and the glacier streams which descend 
to the sea convey the impression almost as if there had 
once been a vast lake on the mountain-top, from which 
the overflowing waters, pouring down every valley, 
had been suddenly congealed. 

Off Cape Sabine there are two islands, which I 
name Brevoort and Stalknecht ; and another, midway 
between them and Wade Point, which I name LecontC; 
A deep inlet running parallel with the Cadogen Inlet 
of Captain Inglefield, fringed all around with gla- 
ciers set into the dark rocks like brilliants into a 
groundwork of jet, opens between Wade Point and 
Cape Isabella. I leave the naming of it until I see 
whether Inglefield has not a bay set down there, as I 
have not with me the official map of his explorations. 

Cape Isabella is a ragged mass of Plutonic rock, 
and looks as if it had been turned out of Nature's 
laboratory unfinished and pushed up from the sea 
while it was yet hot, to crack and crumble to pieces 



422 A " DIAMOND or THE DESERT." 

in the cold air. Its surface is barren to the last de- 
gree ; immense chasms or canons cross it in all di- 
rections, in which there was not the remotest trace of 
vegetation, — great yawning depths with jagged beds 
and crumbling sides, — sunless as the Cimerian cav- 
erns of Avernus. 

As I clambered over crag after crag, I thought that 
I had not in the summer-time anywhere lit upon a 
place so devoid of life ; bu.t, as if to compensate for 
this barrenness, or through some freak of Nature, a 
charming cup-like valley nestled among the forbidding 
hills, and upon it I stumbled suddenly. Balboa could 
hardly have been more surprised when he climbed 
the hills of Darien and first saw the Pacific Ocean, 
It was truly a " Diamond of the Desert," and the lit- 
tle hermitage in the wilderness of Engadi was not a 
more pleasing sight to the Knight of the Couchant 
Leopard than was this to me. 

The few hardy plants which I had found in all 
other localities had failed to find a lodgment upon the 
craggy slopes of this rough cape, and the rocks stood 
up in naked barrenness, without the little fringe of 
vegetation which usually girdles them elsewhere ; 
but down into this valley the seeds of life had been 
wafted ; the grass and moss clothed it with green ; 
and the poppies and buttercups sprinkled it over 
with leaves of gold. In its centre reposed a little 
sparkling lake, like a diamond in an emerald setting 
— a little '^ charmed sea," truly, 

" Girt by mountains wild and hoary ; " 

and weird and wonderful as any that ever furnished 
theme for Norland legend. 

From the lower margin of this lake a stream 



A GLACIER GROTTO. 423 

rushed in a series of cascades through a deep gorge 
to the sea, and from the valley a number of little riv- 
ulets gurgled among the stones, or wound gently 
through the soft moss-beds. Tracing one of these to 
its source, I came uj)on a glen which was terminated 
abruptly by a glacier, appearing at a little distance 
like a draped curtain of white satin drawn across the 
narrow passage, as if to screen some sacred chamber 
of the hills. As I approached nearer this white cur- 
tain assumed more solid shape, and I observed that a 
multitude of bright fountains fluttered over it. Near 
its centre a narrow Gothic archway led into a spacious 
grotto filled with a soft cerulean light, fretted with 
pendants of most fantastic shape and of rare trans- 
parency, which were reflected, as in a silver mirror, 
on the still surface of a limped pool, from which 
gushed forth a crystal rivulet, pure and sparkling as 
the cypress-embowered waters that laved the virgin 
limbs of the huntress-queen. 

While peering into the deep recesses of this won- 
derful cave, so chaste and exquisite, where solitude 
appeared to dwell alone and undisturbed except by 
the soft music of streams, I became suddenly con- 
scious of having been enticed into danger, Actseon- 
like, unawares. A mass of ice broke from the glacier 
front and, splitting into numerous fragments, the 
showier came crushing down upon the rocks and in 
the water near me, and sent me flying precijDitately 
and with my curiosity still unsatisfied, 

Keturning to the lake, I followed around its green 
border, plucking, as I went, a nosegay of bright flow- 
ers, which have so pleasing an association that they 
will not find place in the '^ botanical collections," but, 
rather, in another collection, — mementos, if less 



424 TRACES OF ESQUBIAUX. 

prized, more cherished ; and the recollection wiiich I 
shall carry with me of this charming valley, and the 
silvery lake, and the gushing rivulets, and the grot- 
toed glacier, will be enhanced when I name them in 
remembrance of the fairest forms that ever flitted 
across the memory of storm-beaten traveler, and the 
fairest fingers that ever turned Afghan wool into a 
cunning device to brighten the light of a dingy 
cabin ! 

Upon going ashore at Gale Point, I discovered 
traces of Esquimaux much more recent than those at 
Gould Bay and other places on the shores of Grinnell 
Land. Indeed they were of such a character as to 
cause me strongly to suspect that the shore is at 
present inhabited. The cliffs are composed of a dark 
sandstone which, to the northward of the Point, 
breaks suddenly away into a broad plain that slopes 
gently down to the water's edge. This plain is about 
five miles wide, and is bounded at the north much as 
at the south, by lofty cliffs, which rise above the prim- 
itive rocks back of Cape Isabella. The plain was 
composed of loose shingle, covered over in many 
places with large patches of green, . through which 
flowed a number of broad streams of water. These 
streams sprang from the front of a glacier which 
bulged down the valley from the mer de glace. It 
was about four miles from the sea, and bounded the 
green and stony slope with a great white wall several 
hundred feet high, above which the snow-covered 
steep of the mer' de glace led the eye away up to the 
bald summits of the distant mountains. As I looked 
up at this immense stream of ice it seemed as if a 
dozen Nias-aras had been boundinof toa:ether into the 



THE MER DE GLACE. 



425 



valley and were frozen in their fall, and the discharg- 
ing waters of the river below had dried up, and flow- 
ers bloomed in the river-bed. My journal compares 
it to a huge white sheet, hung upon a cord stretched 
from cliff to cliff 




CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

lea\t:ng smith sound. — crossing the north water. — meeting the 
pack. — the sea and air teeming with life. —remarkable refrac- 
tion—reaching whale sound. — surveying in a boat. — the sound 
traced to its termination. — meeting esquimaux at iteplik. — hab- 
its of the esquimaux. — marriage ceremony. — the decay of the 
tribe. —view of barden bay. — tyndall glacier. 

The ice coming in at length with an easterly wind, 
and being unable to find any harbor (Cadogen Inlet 
was completely filled with ice), we had no alter- 
native but to stand away to the south ; and this we 
did at a fortunate moment, for the ice crowded in 
against the shore with great rapidity ; and, had we 
waited longer, we should have been unable to escape, 
and would have been driven upon the beach by the 
irresistible pack. 

We carried the wind along with us down the coast 
until we reached below Talbot Inlet, when we came 
upon a heavy pack, and held our course for Whale 
Sound, which I was desirous of exploring. Passing 
close to the land, I had an excellent opportunity for 
observing the coast and perfecting the chart, espe- 
cially of Cadogen and Talbot Inlets, both of which 
were traced around their entire circuit. The coast is 
everywhere bristling with glaciers. A large island 
lies below Talbot Inlet, inside of the Mittie Island 
of Captain Inglefield, and not before laid down. 

Skirting the northern margin of the ice, we 
made a course to the northeastward, across the 



A RARE DAY. 427 

North Water, through one of the most charming days 
that I have spent under the Arctic skies. There was 
but the feeblest " cat's-paw " to ruffle the sea, and we 
ghded on our way over the still waters through a 
bright sunshine. The sea was studded all over with 
glittering icebergs and bits of old fioes, a.nd here and 
there a small streak of ice which had become de- 
tached from the pack. The beasts of the sea and the 
fowls of the air gathered around us, and the motion- 
less water and the quiet atmosphere were alive. The 
walrus came snorting and bellowing through the sea 
as if to have a look at us ; the seals in great num- 
bers were continually putting up their cunning heads 
all around the vessel; the narwhal in large schools, 
"blowing" lazily, thrust their horns out of the sea, 
and their dappled bodies followed after with a grace- 
ful curve, as if they enjoyed the sunshine and were 
loathe to quit it ; great numbers of white whale 
darted past us ; the air and the icebergs swarmed 
with gulls ; and flocks of ducks and auks were flying 
over us all the time. I sat upon the deck much of 
the day, trying, with indifierent success, to convey to 
my portfolio the exquisite green tints of the ice which 
drifted past us, and watching a most singular phenom- 
enon in the heavens. These Arctic skies do some- 
times play fantastic tricks, and on no occasion have I 
witnessed the exhibition to such perfection. The at- 
mosphere had a rare softness, and throughout almost 
the entire day there was visible a most remarkable 
mirage or refraction, — an event of very frequent oc- 
currence during the calm days of the Arctic summer. 
The entire horizon was lifting and doubling itself con- 
tinually, and objects at a great distance beyond it 
rose as if by strange enchantment and stood suspended 



428 ARCTIC MIRAGE. 

in the air, changing shape with each changing mo- 
ment. Distant icebergs and floating ice-fields, and 
coast-lines and mountains were thus brought into 
view ; sometimes preserving for a moment their nat- 
ural shajDes, then widening or lengthening, rising and 
falling as the wind fluttered or fell calm over the sea. 
The changes were as various as the dissolving images 
of a kaleidoscope, and every form of which the imagi- 
nation could conceive stood out against the sky. At 
one moment a sharp spire, the prolonged image of a 
distant mountain-peak, would shoot up ; and this 
would fashion itself into a cross, or a spear, or a hu- 
man form, and would then die away, to be replaced 
by an iceberg which appeared as a castle standing 
upon the summit of a hill, and the ice-fields coming 
up with it flanked it on either side, seeming at one 
moment like a plain dotted with trees and animals ; 
again, as rugged mountains ; and then, breaking up 
after a while, disclosing a long line of bears and dogs 
and birds and men dancing in the air, and skipping 
from the sea to the skies. To picture this strange 
spectacle were an impossible task. There was no end 
to the forms which appeared every instant, melting 
into other shapes as suddenly. For hours we watched 
the "insubstantial pageant," until a wind from the 
north rufiied the sea ; when, with its first breath, the 
whole scene melted away as quickly as the " baseless 
fabric " of Prospero's " vision ; " and from watching 
these dissolving images, and wooing the soft air, we 
were, in a couple of hours, thrashing to windward 
through a fierce storm of rain and hail, under close- 
reefed sails. 

We had some ugly knocking about and some nar- 
row escapes in the thick atmosphere, before we 



LOST IN THE FOG. 429 

reached Whale Sound. A heavy pack, apparently 
hanging upon the Carey Islands, drove us far up the 
North Water ; and, to get to our destination, we 
were obliged to hold in close to Hakluyt Island 
Here, the air having fallen calm, I pulled ashore ; 
and, when we set out to return, we found ourselves 
enveloped in a fog which caused us some alarm. Ob- 
serving its approach, we pulled to catch the schooner 
before the dark curtain closed upon us, but were over- 
taken when almost a mile away. Having no compass 
we became totally ignorant of v\^hich way to steer; 
and, although we heard the ship's bell and an occa- 
sional discharge of guns to attract our attention, yet, 
so deceptive is the ear where the eye is not concerned 
in guiding it, that no two of us caught the sound 
from the . same direction ; so we lay on our oars, and 
trusted to fortune. After a while, a light wind sprung 
up ; and the schooner, getting under way, by the 
merest chance bore right upon us, and came so sud- 
denly in view out of the dark vapors that we had 
like to have been run down before we could get 
headway on the boat. 

We had much difficulty, owing to the fogs, current, 
and icebergs, in getting up Whale Sound ; but, after 
much patient perseverance, we arrived at length in 
Barden Bay, and came to anchor off the native set- 
tlement of Netlik. 

The settlement was found to be deserted. The fog 
lifting next day, disclosing much heavy ice, among 
which it would be dangerous to trust the schooner, I 
took a whale-boat and pulled up the Sound. 

The Sound narrows steadily until a few miles be- 
yond Barden Bay, where the coasts run parallel until 
the waters terminate in a deep bay or gulf, to which 



430 AN ESQUIMAUX VILLAGE. 

I gave the name of the enterprising navigator, Cap- 
tain Inglefield, who first passed the entrance to it. 
The coast on the north side runs mnch further south 
than appears on the old charts ; and two conspicu- 
ous headlands, which Inglefield mistook for islands, 
I have designated on my chart by the names which 
the supposed islands have on his. A cluster of islands 
at the farther end of the gulf I called Harvard Islands, 
in remembrance of the University at Cambridge, to 
members of whose faculty I am indebted for many 
courteous attentions while fitting out in Boston ; and 
a range of noble mountains which rise from the head 
of the gulf and with stately dignity overlook the 
broad mer de glace, holding the vast ice-flood in check, 
I named the Cambridge Hills. 

On the south side of the Sound, toward which the 
Harvard Islands seem to trend, there are two promi- 
nent capes which I named respectively Cape Banks 
and Cape Lincoln j ^ while two deep bays are desig- 
nated as Cope's Bay and Harrison Bay. Another, on 
the north side, I called Armsby Bay. 

I had to resrret that I could not reach the further 
end of the gulf The ice for about twenty miles re- 
mained quite solid and impenetrable, so that I was 
obliged to draw back. Skirting along the southern 
coast we came upon the village of Itiplik and found 
it inhabited by about thirty people. They were 
living in seal-skin tents, three in number, and were 
overjoyed to see us. Near by, there was a rookery 
of auks similar to that near Port Foulke, which, to- 
gether with the seal and walrus that were observed to 

^ In honor of His Excellency N. P. Banks, Governor of Massachusetts, 
and of His Honor F. W. Lincoln, Mayor of Boston, at the time of my 
sailing, in 1860. 



ESQUIMAU STATISTICS. 431 

be very numerous in all parts of the Sound, furnished 
them ample subsistence. There were in all nine fam- 
ilies, but there was no family that consisted of more 
than four persons, — the parents and two children. 
The largest family that I have seen among them 
was that of Kalutunah, Hans told me of several 
families of three children ; and Tattarat, now a lonely 
widower, lives on Northumberland Island, near the 
auk-hill of that place, with three orphans ; and his 
wife bore him a fourth, which disappeared in some 
mysterious manner soon after its mother died and 
while it was yet a babe at the breast. 

With the aid of Hans, I endeavored to get at a cor- 
rect estimate of the whole tribe, and, commencing 
with Cape York, took down their names. In this 
community there can be no domestic secrets, and 
everybody knows all about everybody else's business, 
— where they go for the summer, and what luck they 
have had in hunting, — and talk and gossip about it 
and about each other just as if they were civilized 
beings, having good names to pick to pieces. But I 
strongly suspect that Hans grew tired of my ques- 
tioning and cross-questioning, and stopped short at 
seventy-two. I have good reason to believe, however, 
that the tribe numbers more nearly one hundred. I 
obtained a complete list of the deaths which had 
taken place since Dr. Kane left them, in 1855. They 
amounted to thirty-four ; and, during that time, there 
had been only nineteen births. 

Their marriage engagements are, of necessity, mere 
matters of convenience. Their customs allow of a 
plurality of wives ; but among this tribe, even if 
there were sufficient women, no hunter probably 
could support two families. The marriage arrange- 



432 ESQUIMAU MARRIAGE CEREMONY. 

merit is made by the joarents, and the parties are 
fitted to each other as their ages best suit. When a 
boy comes of age, he marries the first girl of suitable 
years. There is no marriage ceremony further than 
that the boy is required to carry off his bride by 
main force ; for, even among these blubber-eating 
people, the woman only saves her modesty by a sham 
resistance, although she knows years beforehand that 
her destiny is sealed and that she is to become the 
wife of the man from whose embraces, when the nup- 
tial day comes, she is obliged by the inexorable law 
of public opinion to free herself if possible, by kick- 
ing and screaming with might and main until she is 
safely landed in the hut of her future lord, when she 
gives up the combat very cheerfully and takes posses- 
sion of her new abode. The betrothal often takes 
place at a very early period of life and at very dis- 
similar ages. A bright-looking boy named Arko, 
which means " The spear thrower," who is not over 
twelve years of age, is engaged to a girl certainly of 
twenty, named Kartak, " The girl with the large 
breasts." Why was this ? I inquired. " There is no 
other woman for him." I thought he looked rather 
dubious of his future matrimonial prospects when I 
asked him how soon he proposed to carry off this big- 
breasted bride. Two others, whom I judged to be 
about ten years each, were to be married in this 
romantic style as soon as the lover had caught his 
first seal. This, I was told, is the test of manhood 
and maturity. 

I talked to the oldest hunter of the tribe, an an- 
cient, patriarchal-looking individual named Kesarsoak, 
— " He of the white hairs," — about the future of the 
tribe. The prospect to him was the same as to Kalu- 



TYNDALL GLACIER. 433 

tunah, — " Our people have but a few more suns to 
live ! " Would they all come up to Etah if I should 
return, and stay there, and bring guns and hunters ? 
His answer was a prompt, " Yes." He told me, as 
Kalutunah had done before, that Etah was the best 
hunting-place on the coast, only the ice broke up so 
soon and was always dangerous ; while Whale Sound 
was frozen during nearly all the year, and gave the 
hunters greater security. 

After returning to the schooner, I pulled up into 
Barden Bay, taking with me the magnetic and sur- 
veying instruments and facilities for completing my 
botanical and other collections, and for photographing 
the fine scenery of the bay. Landing on its north 
shore, we found the hill-side covered in many places 
with a richer green sward than I had ever seen north 
of Upernavik, except once on a former occasion at 
Northumberland Island. The slope was girdled with 
the same tall cliffs which everywhere meet the eye 
along this coast ; and th e same summer streams of 
melted snow tumbled over them, and down the slope 
from the mountain sides. The day was quite calm 
and the sky almost cloudless. The sun shone broadly 
upon us, and the temperature was SI''. Immense 
schools of whales and walrus, with an occasional seal, 
were sporting in the water ; flocks of sea-fowl went 
careering about the icebergs and through the air, 
and myriads of butterflies fluttered among the flow- 
ers ; while from the opposite side of the bay an im- 
mense glacier,^ whose face was almost buried in the 
sea, carried the eye along a broad and winding valley, 
up steps of ice of giant height, and over smooth 
plains of whiteness, around the base of the hills, until 

1 1 have named this glacier in honor of Professor John Tyndall. 
28 



434 TYNDALL GLACIER. 

at length the slope pierced the very clouds, and, re- 
appearing above the curling vapors, was lost in the 
blue canopy of the heavens. 

Three glaciers were visible from my point of ob- 
servation, — a small one, to the right, barely touching 
the water, and hanging, as if in suspensive agony, in a 
steep declivity ; another, at the head of the bay, was 
yet miles away from the sea ; while before us, in the 
centre of the bay, there came pouring down the 
rough and broken flood of ice before alluded to, 
which, bulging far out into the bay, formed a coast- 
line of ice over two miles long;. 

The whole glacier system of Greenland was here 
spread out before me in miniature. A lofty mountain- 
ridge, like a whale's back, held in check the expanding 
mer de glace, but a broad cleft cut it in twain, and the 
stream before me had burst through the opening like 
cataract rapids tumbling from the pent-up waters of a 
lake. The sublimity and picturesqueness of the scene 
was greatly heightened by two |)arallel rocky ridges, 
whose crests were to the left of the glacier. These 
crests are trap-dykes, left standing fifty feet perhaps 
above the sloping hill-side below them, by the wasting 
away of the sandstone through which they have 
forced their way in some great convulsion of Nature. 

On the day following, I visited this glacier and 
made a careful examination of it, ]3ulling first along 
its front in a boat and then mounting to its surface. 

It would be difficult to imagine any thing more 
startling to the imagination or more suggestive to 
the mind than the scene presented by this two miles 
of ice coast-line, as I rowed along within a few fathoms 
of it. The glacier was broken up into the most sin- 
gular shapes, and presented nothing of that uniformity 



GOTHIC GLACIER. 435 

usual to the glacier's face. It was worn and wasted 
away until it seemed like the front of some vast in- 
congruous temple, — here a groined roof of some 
huge cathedral, and there a pointed window or a Nor- 
man doorway deeply molded ; while on all sides 
were pillars round and fluted, and pendants dripping 
crj^stal drops of the purest water, and all bathed in a 
soft, blue atmosphere. Above these wondrous arch- 
waj'S and galleries there was still preserved the same 
Gothic character, — tall spires and pinnacles rose 
along the entire front and multiplied behind them, 
and new forms met the eye continually. The play of 
lis^ht and the mao-ical softness of the color of the sea 
and ice was perfectly charming, as the scene I have 
heretofore described among the icebergs. Strange, 
there was nothing cold or forbidding anywhere. The 
ice seemed to take the warmth which suffused the air, 
and I longed to pull my boat far within the openings, 
and paddle beneath the Gothic archways. The dan- 
gers from falling ice alone prevented me from enter- 
ing one of the largest of them. 

Pulling around to the west side of the glacier, I 
clambered up a steep declivity over a pile of mud and 
rock, which the expanding and moving ice had pushed 
out from its bed. Once at the top of this yielding 
slope, the eye was met by a perfect forest of spires ; 
but it was not easy to get on the glacier itself Along 
its margin, half in mud and rock and half in ice, a 
torrent of dirty water came tearing along at a furious 
pace, disclosing the laminated structure of the ice in 
a very beautiful manner ; and this was not easily 
crossed. At length, however, I came to a spot where 
the chief feeder of this rushing; stream branched off 
at right angles, coming from the glacier itself, and I 



436 GLACIER STREAM. 

had no difficulty in wading across above the junction 
of the two arms. Following thence up the eastward 
branch as it dashed wildly down in a succession of 
cataracts, cutting squarely across the laminae or strata 
(which lay at an angle of about 35°), I came at length 
to a place where the ice was much disturbed, and rose 
by broken stejos from the plain on which I stood to 
the height of about one hundred and fifty feet, and 
right out from this wall came the rushing torrent, 
hissing and foaming from a monstrous tunnel, to 
which the Croton Aqueduct would be a pigmy. It 
was a strange sight. The ice was perfectly pure and 
transparent ; and yet, out of its very heart, was pour- 
ing the muddy stream of which I have made mention, 
and which, although the comparison is rather remote, 
reminded me of the image which Virgil draws of the 
Tiber, when -^neas first beheld its turbid waters, 
pouring out from beneath the bright and lovely fo- 
liage which overspread it. 

The tunnel out of which the waters poured was 
about ten yards wide and as many high, the support- 
ing roof being composed of every form of Gothic 
arch, fretted and fluted in the most marvelous man- 
ner, and pure as the most stainless alabaster ; yet the 
distant effect within the tunnel was quite different, 
— the dark stream beneath being reflected above ; 
and truly, if I might be allowed to -paraphrase a line 
of Dry den, — 

" The muddy bottom o'er the arch was thrown." 

I clambered within this tunnel as far as I could, along 
a slippery shelf above the tumbling waters, until the 
light was almost shut out behind me, but far enough 
to perceive that, on my right hand, other tunnels dis- 



CLIMBING THE GLACIER. 437 

charged into this main sewer, as the underground cul- 
verts which drain into the main artery the refuse of a 
city. 

Returning to the open air, I pursued my way up 
the glacier for a couple of miles further, and discov- 
ered that this stream had its origin in the mountain 
on the right, where the melting snows rolled over the 
rocky slope, evidently by a newly formed channel, 
for the water was tearing: throuarh moss-beds and de- 
posits of sand and silt, and, rushing thence on the gla- 
cier, tumbled headlong hundreds and hundreds of 
feet, down into a yawning chasm. This chasm or cre- 
vasse no doubt extended to the bottom of the glacier, 
and the water, after winding along the rocky bed 
under the ice, finally has found its way into the 
cracks formed by the ice in its descent over a steep 
and rugged declivity, and has slowly worn away the 
tunnels or culverts which I have described. 

I had now come to the gorge in the mountain 
through which the glacier descends to the sea. The 
view of the glacier from the margin is, at this point, 
somewhat like what I fancy the mer de glace at Trela- 
porte, in the Alps, would be if the Grande Jorasse 
and Mont Tacul, and the other mountains which 
form the cradle for the glacier de Lechaud and the 
glacier du Geant, and their tributaries, were all leveled. 
Instead of the variety disclosed in the Alpine view, 
the eye lights here upon one expanding stream 
instead of many streams, which narrows as it ap- 
proaches the pass until it is about two miles over ; 
thence descending the steep declivity to the sea, 
breaking up as it moves over the rougher places in 
the manner before described. 

In all my glacier experience I had not seen any 



438 GRANDEUR OF THE GLACIERS. 

thing so fully exhibiting the principles of glacier 
movement or so forcibly illustrating the river-like char- 
acter of the crystal stream. To scale the glacier fur- 
ther was not in my power; but the eye climbed up, 
step by step, through the mountain-pass to the giddy 
summit, and as the imagination wandered from this 
icy pinnacle over sea and mountain, it seemed to me 
that the world did not hold any more impressive evi- 
dence of the greatness and the power of the Almighty 
hand ; and I thought how feeble were all the efforts 
of man in comparison. As I turned away and com- 
menced my descent, I found myself repeating these 
lines of Byron, penned as his poet-fancy wandered 
up the ice-girdled steeps and over the ice -crowned 
summits of the Alps : — 

'' these are 

The palaces of Nature, whose vast walls 
Have pinnacled in clouds their snowy scalps, 
And throned Eternity in icy halls 
Of cold sublimity." 



I 

i 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

HOMEWARD BOUND. —ENTERING MELVILLE BAY. — ENCOUNTER ^yITH A BEAR. 
— MEETING THE PACK. — MAKING THE "SOUTH WATER." — REACHING UPER- 
NAVIK. — THE NEWS. — TO GOODHAVEN. — LIBERALITY OE THE DANISH GOV- 
ERNMENT AND THE GREENLAND OFFICIALS. —DRIVEN OUT OF BAFFIN BAY 
BY A GALE. — CRIPPLED BY THE STORM AND FORCED TO TAKE SHELTER 
IN HALIFAX. — HOSPITABLE RECEPTION. — ARRIVAL IN BOSTON. — REALIZE 
THE STATE OF THE COUNTRY.— THE DETERMINATION. — CONCLUSION. 

My story is soon ended. Having completed the ex- 
ploration of Whale Sound, we tripped our anchor and 
stood southward. The heavens were brisrht and the 
air soft with a summer warmth ; and as we glided 
down the waveless waters, all sparkling with icebergs? 
watching the scene of our adventures slowly sinking 
away behind us under the crimson trail of the mid- 
night sun, it seemed truly as if smooth seas and gen- 
tle winds had come to invite us home. 

But this repose of the elements was of short du- 
ration. A dark curtain rose after a while above the 
retreating hills, and sent us a parting salute, in the 
shape of a storm of snow and wind, so that we were 
soon obliged to gather in some of our canvas, and keep 
a sharp look-out. 

My purpose was to reach the "West Water," by 
making a course toward Pond's Bay, then round the 
" middle ice " to the southward, and make an easterly 
course for the Greenland coast. 

The atmosphere cleared up at length, but the wind 
held on fiercely. Being from the north-northeast, it 
seemed to me then to favor an easterly rather than a 



440 ENCOUNTER WITH A BEAR. 

westerly passage ; so, having reached a Kttle below 
the latitude of Cape York, on the meridian of 73° 40' 
without discovering any signs of ice, I changed my 
original purpose, and, altering the course of the 
schooner, struck directly across Melville Bay for Uper- 
navik. The result proved the prudence of this change. 
In tw^enty-four hours we ran down nearly two degrees 
of latitude, and hauled in seven degrees of longitude, 
finding ourselves at noon of August 10th in latitude 
74° 19^, longitude 66°, without having encountered 
any ice seriously to trouble us. The air still holding 
clear, we had no difficulty in avoiding the bergs. 

The sea had by this time become very angry, and I 
was almost as anxious as I had been the year before, 
when entering the bay from the south. The atmos- 
phere was, however, perfectly clear. 

While bounding along, logging ten knots an hour, 
we almost ran over an immense polar bear, which was 
swimming in the open water, making a fierce battle 
with the seas, and seemingly desirous of boarding us. 
He was evidently much exhausted, and, seeing the 
vessel approach, doubtless had made, at her in search of 
safety. The unhappy beast had probably allowed him- 
self to be drifted off on an ice-raft which had gone to 
pieces under him in the heavy seas. Although these 
polar bears are fine swimmers, I much feared that the 
waves would in the end prove too much for this poor 
fellow, as there was not a speck of ice in sight on 
which he could find shelter". As we passed, he touched 
the schooner's side, and Jensen, who had seized a rifle, 
was in the act of putting an end to his career, when I 
arrested his hand. The beast was making such a 
brave fight for his life that I would not see him shot, 
more especially as the waves were running too high 



EECROSSING MELVILLE BAY. 441 

to lower a boat for his carcass, without a risk which 
the circumstances did not warrant. 

The presence of this bear warned me that the pack 
could not be very remote, and accordingly we short- 
ened sail, and I took my old station aloft on the fore- 
yard. Sure enough the pack was there, as was soon 
evidenced by an " ice-blink," and in a little while we 
were close upon it. Hauling by the wind, we .skirted 
its margin for some time without discovering any termi- 
nation to it ; and, the ice appearing to be very loose and 
rotten, I stood away again' on our southerly course, 
and entered the first favorable lead. It was some- 
thing of a venture, as we could not, although the ice 
was wholly different from that of Smith Sound, owing 
to the condition of the schooner's bows, strike it with 
safety. Luckily the wind favored us, and the schooner 
answering her helm promptly, we managed to avoid 
the floes for about twelve hours, at least without a 
thump of any serious consequence, at the end of which 
time the wind had fallen to calm ; and this continuing 
for some time, with the temperature several degrees 
below freezing, new ice was formed more than half an 
inch thick, all over the sea. 

A light and fair breeze springing up again, we were 
once more under way, crunching through this crystal 
sheet much to the damage of the schooner's sides,, 
where there was no iron, and very embarrassing to 
our progress, for we were often absolutely stuck fast. 
We were glad enough when the breeze stiffened and 
knocked the ice to pieces, giving us a free passage 
into the " East Water." 

We made land on the morning of the 12th, and 
found it to be the Horse's Head. The pack was now 
far behind us, and our southern passage through Mel- 



442 NEWS FROM HOME. 

ville Bay had been made in about five hours less time 
than our northern. 

From the Horse's Head we jogged on through a 
foggy atmosphere with occasional thick sc|ualls of 
snow and light variable winds, until after three days' 
groping we found ourselves again at anchor in Uper- 
navik harbor. 

While the chain was yet clicking in the hawse-hole, 
an old Dane, dressed in seal-skins, and possessing a 
small stock of English and a large stock of articles to 
trade, pulled off to us with an Esquimau crew, and, 
with little ceremony, clambered over the gangway. 
Knorr met him, and, without any ceremony at all, de- 
manded the news. 

" Oh ! dere 's plenty news." 

" Out with it, man ! What is it ? " 

" Oh 1 de Sout' States dey go agin de Nort' States, 
and dere 's plenty fight." 

I heard the answer, and, wondering what strange 
complication of Em^opean politics had kindled another 
Continental war, called this Polar Eumaeus to the 
quarter-decl^. Had he any news from America ? 

" Oh ! 't is 'merica me speak ! De Sout' States, you 
see ? dey go agin de Nort' States, you see ? and 
dere 's plenty fight ! " 

Yes, I did see ! but I did not believe that he told 
the truth, and awaited the letters which I knew must 
have come out with the Danish vessel, and which 
were immediately sent for to the Government-House. 

It proved that letters had been brought for us 
by our old friend, Dr. Rudolph, who had returned a 
few weeks before from Copenhagen, and who kindly 
brought them aboard himself as soon as he knew of 
our arrival, and almost before my messenger had 
reached the shore. 



THE REBELLION. 443 

These and some files of papers, and the Doctor's 
memory, gave us the leading occurrences which had 
taken place at home up to near the end of March, 
1861. We learned of the inauguration of the new 
President and of the leadins; events following- his elec- 
tion, but of the startling incidents of a later period 
we were ignorant. We could not apprehend that war 
had actually broken out. We knew only of the in- 
trigues for a division of the States and of the acts 
looking to that design. We learned that suspicion on 
the one hand, and treason on the other, ruled the 
hour ; that threats of violence and irresolute counsels 
had thrown society into a ferment ; and that the na- 
tional safety was imperiled °, but we knew not of the 
firing on Fort Sumter, nor of the bloody wound 
which the Nation had received at Bull Run ; nor that 
a vast army for the protection of the Capital and the 
defense of the Government was then growing up on 
the banks of the Potomac. We little thought, that in 
every city, and town, and hamlet, the occupations of 
peace had already given place to the passionate ex- 
citements of war ; that a cry of indignation and 
anger had gone up throughout the land against men 
who, pledged to protect the national flag and the na- 
tional name, had abandoned and repudiated them ; or, 
that under the banner of States' rights and under the 
impulse of ambition, a powerfid party had boldly bid 
defiance to the Federal power and declared their pur- 
pose to break the Federal compact. And, even had 
we heard these things, it would have been difficult for 
us to have thus suddenly realized that, in a single 
year, human folly and human madness had so com- 
pletely got the better of right and reason. 

I occupied myself while the schooner lay at Uper- 



444 LIBERALITY OF THE DANISH GOVERNMEI^'T. 

navik with visiting a magnificent glacier nine miles 
wide, which discharges into a fiord named Aukpadla- 
tok, about forty miles from the town. Near this gla- 
cier there is a hunting-station of the same name 
which is superintended by a Dane, called Philip, who 
lives there in the enjoyment of peace and plenty, with 
an Esquimau wife , and a large family of children, 
among whom are four full-grown half-breed boys, — 
the best hunters, I was told, north of Proven. My 
surveys detained me several days at Philip's hut, and, 
before I left, I had made full arrangements with him- 
self and his seal-skin-coated boys and his wife and 
daughters, to make sledges, for which I gave them 
abundant materials, and fur-clothing, and skin-lines ; 
and I engaged them to rear and accumulate dogs 
for me, that I might be well supplied when I came 
back the next year. 

After leaving Upernavik, light and baffling winds 
kept us at our old trade of dodging the icebergs for 
four days, at the end of which time we were at an- 
chor in Goodhaven, and I was enjoying, as I was sure 
to do, the courteous hospitality of my old friend. In- 
spector Olrik. 

This settlement is situated on the south side of 
Disco Island, and takes its name from the excellence 
of the harbor, which is completely land-locked. It is 
the principal colony of North Greenland, and, being 
the residence of the Viceroy or Royal Inspector, has 
attached to it an air of imjDOrtance not belonging to 
the other stations. 

Mr. Olrik exhibited to me an order from his Gov- 
ernment, commanding the Greenland officials to give 
attention to my requirements, and offering me at the 
same time as well his ofi&cial as personal good offices. 



LEAVING GREENLAND. 445 

Being on my way home, I had Httle occasion to avail 
myself of this gracious act of the Danish Govern- 
ment; but I informed the Inspector of my future 
purposes and signified to him my desire to avail my- 
self of its privileges next year. I am glad of an op- 
23ortunity publicly to express my admiration of the 
conduct of the Danish Government toward the Arctic 
expeditions of whatever nationality ; and in my own 
case it was the more personally gratifying, and the 
more highly appreciated, that I had no " Depart- 
ment " orders wherewith to back up my claims to 
consideration. 

From the Chief Trader, Mr. Anderson, as well as 
from the Inspector, I had much kindly assistance in 
perfecting my collections and in completing my series 
of photographic views, and I found myself so agree- 
ably as well as profitably occupied that I was truly 
loath to quit the good harbor ; but it was necessary 
for me to be hastening home, as the nights were 
growing dark, and I did not wish to be caught among 
the icebergs without some sunlight to guide me ; so, 
when the first fine wind came, I huddled my col- 
lections aboard, bade good-by, saluted the Danish 
ensign for the last time, and — well, we did over 
again what we had done a dozen times before — dove 
into a villainous fog-bank, out of which came a rush 
of wind that sent us homeward a little faster than 
we cared to go. 

It was a regular equinoctial storm, and, from the 
time of leaving Disco until we had passed Newfound- 
land, it scarcely once relaxed its grip of us. We 
were blown out through Davis Strait even more 
fiercely than we had been blown in. At one time we 
were beset with a perfect hurricane, and how the 



446 FLYIN'G BEFORE THE GALE. 

schooner staggered through it was little short of a 
miracle. Ulysses could hardly have had a worse 
dusting, when his stupid crew let loose all the winds 
which ^olus had so kindly bagged up for him. 
Every stitch of canvas was ripped up but the little 
rag of a top-sail, under which we, scudded before the 
gale through four days, running down in one four-and- 
twenty hours two hundred and twenty miles of lati- 
tude. The seas which came tumbling after us, each 
one seemingly determined to roll over the poop, were 
perfectly frightful ; especially when one looked aloft 
and saw the little patch of canvas threatening every 
moment to give way, and heard the waters gurgling 
under the counter as the stern went down and the 
bows went up, while a very Niagara was roaring and 
curveting after us, as if maddened with defeat, and 
with each new effort the more determined to catch 
the craft before she should mount the crest ahead. 
But she slipped from under every threatening danger 
as gracefully, if not as 

" Swift, as an eagle cleaving the liquid air," 

and, leaving the parted billows foaming and roaring 
behind her, passed on triumphant and unharmed. 

When off Labrador, the w^ind hauled suddenly to 
the westward, and we had to give up the chase, and 
get the schooner's head to it. McCormick had man- 
aged to patch up the foresail, and, getting a triangu- 
lar piece of it rigged for a storm-sail, we proposed 
to heave her to. There did not appear to be much 
chance of a successful termination to this new ven- 
ture, but it was clearly this or nothing. The sail was 
set and the determination come to just in time, for we 
shipped a terrible sea over the quarter, the schooner 



CRIPPLED BY THE STORM. 447 

gave a lurch to leeward, and then righted so suddenly 
that the little topsail which had done us such good 
service went into ribbons, the top-mast cracked off at 
the cap, and crash went the jib-boom right away 
afterward. " Hard a-lee ! " was rather a melancholy 
sort of order to give under the circumstances, and, as 
was to be expected, when the helm went dowm we 
were thrown into the trough of the next sea, where 
we were caught amidships by the ugliest wave that I 
ever happened to look upon, and down it thundered 
upon us, staving in the buhvarks. sweeping the decks 
from stem to stern, and carrying every thing over- 
board, our water-casks included. The schooner shiv- 
ered all over as if every rib in her little body was 
broken, and for a moment I felt sure that she was 
knocked over on her beam ends ; but the craft 
seemed to possess more lives than a cat, and, right- 
ing in an instant, shook herself free of the water, 
took the next wave on the bow, rose to it nobly, and 
then shot squarely into the wind's eye. " Bravely 
done, little lady ! " was McCormick's caressing ap- 
proval of her good behavior. 

We lay hove to for three days, at the end of which 
time we found ourselves drifted from our course tw^o 
hundred miles. Meanwhile, there had been a good 
deal of alarm caused by the loss of our water-casks. 
We had an extra cask or so in the hold, but these 
could not be got up without removing the main- 
hatch, an effort not to be thought of, as the decks 
were flooded and the vessel would be swamped ; so I 
at once set myself to w^ork to remedy the evil, and 
succeeded perfectly. With a tea-kettle for a retort 
and a barrel for a condenser, I managed to distil water 
enough for the entire ship's company; and, in less 



448 RECEPTION IN HALIFAX. 

than three hours after the disaster, all alarm vanished 
when it was known that a stream of pure water was 
trickling from this novel contrivance in the ofi&cers' 
cabin, at the rate of ten gallons a day. 

The damaged condition of the schooner compelled 
us, when off Nova Scotia, to make a port as speedily 
as possible, and accordingly we put into Halifax. Our 
reception there was most gratifying, and among a 
people fimed for hospitality we had abundant reason 
to rejoice over the ill winds which had blown us so 
much good. The admiral of Her Britannic Majesty's 
fleet, then in Halifax Harbor, generously tendered the 
use of the Government conveniences for repairing my 
crippled vessel ; and from the officers of Her Majes- 
ty's civil service and of the squadron and garrison ; 
from the Mayor and many other citizens of Halifax, — 
most especially from the Medical Society, — the Expe- 
dition received attentions which exhibited not less a 
friendliness of disposition for ourselves than respect 
for the flag under which our explorations had been 
made. 

Up to the time of our arrival at Halifax we had, of 
course, no further news than what reached us at Uper- 
navik. We, had scarcely dropped our anchor before a 
a citizen of the town and a countryman of my own, 
neither of whom was long a stranger to my friendship 
or my gratitude, hurried off to give us greetings, and 
to bring the news. They had picked ujd some files of 
New York papers on the way, and we soon learned of 
the terrible struggle that had been going on for many 
months. Although not wholly unprepared for this by 
the intelligence received at Upernavik, yet we had 
confidently cherished the expectation that hostilities 
had been averted by wise and prudent counsellors. 



ARRIVAL IN BOSTON. 449 

The shock was to us such as those who had watched 
at home the progress of events from day to day could 
perhaps hardly realize. The first intelligence I had 
of the war was the account of the Bull Run battle, 
next I heard of the firing on Sumter, and then of 
the riots in Baltimore, and the destruction of Nor- 
folk Navy -Yard, and the capture of Harper's Ferry ; 
and then followed an account of the universal arming 
and volunteering. 

We remained at Halifax not longer than was neces- 
sary to complete the repairs of the schooner, when we 
again put to sea, and in four days made the Boston 
Lights. We picked up a pilot out of the thickest fog 
that I have ever seen south of the Arctic Circle, and 
with a light wind stood into the harbor. As the night 
wore on the wind fell away almost to calm ; the fog 
thickened more and more, if that were possible, as we 
sagged along over the dead waters toward the an- 
chorage. The night was filled with an oppressive 
gloom. The lights hanging at the mast-heads of the 
vessels which we passed had the ghastly glimmer of 
tapers burning in a charnel-house. We saw no vessel 
moving but our own, and even those which lay at an- 
chor seemed like phantom ships floating in the murky 
air. I never saw the ship's company so lifeless, or so 
depressed even in times of real danger. 

The sun was beginning to pour into the atmosphere 
a dim light when we let go our anchor ; .but it did not 
seem that we were at home, or that a great city lay 
near by. No one was anxious to go ashore. It ap- 
peared as if each one anticipated some personal mis- 
fortune, and wished to postpone the shock foreboded 
by his fears. I landed on Long Wharfj and found my 
way into State Street. Two or three figures were 

29 



460 REALIZATION OF THE REBELLION. 

moving through the thick vapors, and their solemn 
foot-fall broke the worse than Arctic stillness. I 
reached Washington Street, and walked anxiously 
westward. A news-boy passed me, I seized a paper, 
and the first thing which caught my eye was the ac- 
count of the Ball's Bluff battle, in which had fallen 
many of the noblest sons of Boston ; and it seemed 
as if the very air had shrouded itself in mourning for 
them, and that the heavens wept tears for the city's 
slain. 

I was wending my way to the house of a friend, 
but I thought it likely that he was not there. I felt 
like a stranger in a strange land, and yet every object 
which I passed was familiar. Friends, country, every 
thing seemed swallowed up in some vast calamity, 
and, doubtful and irresolute, I turned back sad and 
dejected, and found my way on board again through 
the dull, dull fog. 

The terrible reality was now for the first time pres- 
ent to my imagination. The land which I had left in 
the happy enjoyment of peace and repose was already 
drenched with blood ; a great convulsion had come to 
scatter the old landmarks of the national Union, and 
the country which I had known before could be the 
same no more. Mingled with these reflections were 
thoughts of my own career. To abandon my pur- 
suits ; to give up a project in which I had expended so 
much time and means ; to have nipped, as it were, in 
the very bud, a work upon which I had set my heart, 
and to which I had already given all the early years 
of my manhood ; to sacrifice all the hopes and all the 
ambitions which had encouraged me through toil and 
danger, with the promise of the fame to follow the 
successful completion of a great object ; to abandon an 



THE DETERMIN"ATION. 4.51 

enterprise in which I had aspired to win for myself an 
honorable place among the men who have illustrated 
their country's history and shed lustre upon their coun- 
try's flag, were thoughts which first seriously crossed 
my mind while returning on board, carrying in my 
hand the bloody record of Ball's Bluff In the face of 
the startling intelligence which had crowded upon me 
since reaching: Halifax, and which had now culminat- 
ed ; in the face of the duty which every man owes, in 
his own person, to his country when his country is in 
peril, I could not hesitate. Before I had reached my 
cabin, while our friends were yet in ignorance of our 
presence in the bay, I had resolved to postpone the 
execution of the task with which I had charged my- 
self; and I closed as w^ell the cruise as the project, by 
writing a letter to the President, asking for immediate 
employment in the public service, and offering my 
schooner to the government for a gun-boat. 



Five years have now elapsed since the schooner 
United States crept to anchorage through the murky 
vapors of Boston Harbor. The terrible struggle tlien 
first realized by me, as at hand, is now over, and has 
become an event of history. The destinies of individ- 
uals are ever subordinate to the public weal ; and in 
the presence of great social and political revolutions, 
when ideas are fringed with bayonets, and great inter- 
ests are in conflict, men have little leisure for the con- 
sideration of questions of science, or of remote projects 
unconnected with the national safety. 

Therefore it is that the further exploration of the 
Arctic regions was lost sight of by me during the past 



452 PLANS POSTPONED, NOT ABANDONED. 

few years. The facilities which I had acquired, and 
the advantages which I had gained, have been in a 
great measure sacrificed since my return to Boston 
in October, 1861, and I cannot therefore speak with 
confidence as to the time when the exploration will be 
renewed. The scheme has not, however, been aban- 
doned, nor are my views in any respect changed. I 
still contemplate the execution of my original design, 
and hope at an early daj^ to carry into effect the plan 
of discovery indicated in the concluding chapters of 
this narrative. It is still my wish to found at Port 
Foulke such a colony as I have hitherto described, 
and, with a corps of scientific associates, to make that 
the centre of a widely extended system of exploration. 
The value of such a centre will be evident to every in- 
structed mind without illustration, and the availability 
of the situation is shown by the experience of my own 
party. The project has the more interest at this time 
in connection with the effort by way of the Spitzber-. 
gen Sea, contemplated by the Prussian government, 
the inception of which is due to the eminent geogra- 
pher. Dr. Augustus Petermann. As with my own en- 
terprise, that of Dr. Petermann has temporarily given 
place to the necessities of war ; but I have been in- 
formed that the expedition is contemplated for the 
coming spring. The organization of this expedition is 
founded upon, I think, a correct assumption that the 
Open Sea and the North Pole may be reached with 
steam-vessels by pushing through the ice-belt to the 
west and north of Spitzbergen. This route possesses 
some advantages over that of Smith Sound, while it 
has some disadvantages. The temporary colonization 
at Port Foulke gives to the Smith Sound route its 
chief claim over the other, to the consideration of the 
explorer. 



ADVANTAGES OF ARCTIC EXPLORATION". 453 

It is not needful that I should here demonstrate 
the advantages to be derived from a continuation of 
the' line of exploration which I have indicated; — the 
age in which we live has too much profited by re- 
searches into every department of science, which, not 
immediately prosecuted with the view to practical ad- 
vantage, have, by a steady enlargement of the bound- 
aries of human knowledge, promoted the interests of 
commerce, of navigation, of the arts, and of every 
thino; which concerns the convenience and the com- 
fort and the well-being of mankind. In truth, civili- 
zation has profited most by those discoveries which 
possessed at the outset only an abstract value, and 
excited no interest beyond the walls of the academy. 
The vast system of steam communication, which 
weaves around the world its endless web of industry, 
began in the apparently useless experiments of a 
thoughtful boy with the lid of his mother's tea-kettle ; 
that wonderful net-work of wires which spreads over 
the continents and underUes the seas, and along which 
the thoughts of men fly as with the wings of light, 
results from the accidental touching of two pieces of 
metal in the mouth of Volta ; the lenses of the mam- 
moth telescope of Lord Rosse, which reduced to prac- 
tical uses the celestial mechanism, came from observ- 
ing the magnifying powers of a globule of water ; the 
magnetic needle which guides the navies of the world 
to their distant destinations, succeeds the casual con- 
tact of a piece of loadstone and a bit of steel : every- 
where, indeed, we witness the same constant growth 
from what seemed unprofitable beginnings ; — the 
printing-press, the loom, the art of solar painting, all 
sprang from the one same source, — from minds intent 
only upon interrogating Nature, and revealing her 



454 CONCLUSION. 

mysteries, without knowledge of the good to come 
therefrom. The progress of scientific discovery is in- 
deed the progress of the liuman race, and the question, 
Old bono ? is liow no longer asked of him who w^ould 
reveal hidden truths. Wherever men have sought 
wider fields of gain, or power, or usefulness, there has 
been science in the midst of them, — guiding, sup- 
porting, and instructing them. Wherever men have 
sought to plant, among barbarous peoples, the emblem 
of the only true religion, there has she gone before, — 
opening the gates and smoothing the pathway. She 
has lifted the curtain of ignorance from the human 
mind, and Christianity, following her advancing foot- 
steps, has banished from the West the ancient super- 
stitions, and the dark Pantheism of the East and the 
Fetich worship of the savage tribes are passing away. 
The light of science and the gospel of our Christian 
faith have moved hand in hand together through the 
world, and, overriding the barriers of custom, have, 
with unselfish zeal, steadily unfolded to the human 
understanding the material interests which concern 
this life, and to the human soul the sacred truths of 
Revelation which concern the life to come. 




l^I^r'33 



ii 



